Two Tribes, Two Children
by Sandman Cometh
Summary: Sequel to Others. The Avatar gang arrives in Ba Sing Se a week after Zuko and Iroh do. The two forces meet and contemplate an alliance. But Azula captures them, and in the process a secret is revealed that links certain characters in unimagined ways.
1. New Arrivals

Two Tribes, Two Children

Chap. 1

New Arrivals

The walls of Ba Sing Se stretched forth for miles in both directions. If a person looked to the sides, he would see walls that seemed to go around the entire world and then circle back to close the gap. If that same person would look up, he would be reminded of the ancient story of the men who in their arrogance, had tried to build a tower to the gods, only to have their efforts destroyed and their people scattered across the Earth Kingdom. For if these walls could stretch so high, they must have been the ruins of that great Tower, rebuilt with a less lofty goal- to protect the city behind it.

And protect it they had. These walls had withstood the onslaught of the Fire Nation for the duration of the hundred-year war. They had endured the 600-day attack of the Dragon of the West, Fire Nation General Iroh. The walls had seen thousands of Earth Kingdom soldiers leave it's protection over the years, as well as re-enter them, no longer able to make use of them. The walls had offered their protection to thousands of travelers and refuges, for what other purpose does a wall have but to protect? Those had been the words of the King, long ago at the wall's construction, that the city would open the walls to any good souls that desired protection. Since that day, those words had been obeyed, and Ba Sing Se had allowed any who needed protection behind its walls.

Well, almost any. There had been one group, other then the enemy Firebenders, which even the wise King had barred from the city. They had been the people who lived out in the great desert, the people that had abandoned the war and the Earth Kingdom for their empty wasteland. Though they were still Earthbenders, the people of Ba Sing Se had given them another name, a name that fit their chosen world; Sandbenders. These people had been barred from the city, forced to live apart from the Earth Kingdom for their perceived cowardice. But even so, four Sandbender skiffs sped towards the city walls, from the outskirts of the desert.

The skiffs sped over the desert with ease, the sails spread wide with fierce winds. But the speed with which they flew over the sands was not of their own harnessing. The guards of Ba Sing Se felt little more then a slight breeze on this hot day, yet the skiffs flew as if a hurricane was powering their sails. For a moment, the guards tightened their grip on their weapons, wondering if the Sandbenders had finally gone mad and decided to force their way into Ba Sing Se with some kind of twisted bending art.

But their fears were alleviated a second later, when the skiffs came to a halt within inches of the ground of Ba Sing Se, the agreed upon reach of their territory. But the guards looked on with apprehension, wondering what infernal magic fueled the skiff's sails. As they wondered, they heard a voice call out, "We've arrived."

"Good." Said another voice, one tinged with youth and anger, as the skiffs began to empty. But the guards quickly saw that only a few Sandbenders exited the skiffs. It was the others that truly caught their attention. Two Water-Tribe children, a young Earth-Kingdom girl, a boy dressed in strange clothing, and a group of nine men and one woman, masked and dressed in ragged clothes all exited the skiff. Turning to the assembled Sandbenders, the hodge-podge group began to speak, as the guards strained to hear what they were saying…

"Thank you for the ride, Sha-Mo." Oscuridad, leader of the Elemental Knights, said, as he looked at the chief Sandbender.

"It was no hardship. We Sandbenders always pay out debts." Sha-Mo said with a glare at his young son, Ghashiun. The boy did not return his father's gaze, only hung his head in shame. Since he had admitted to trading Appa and therefore become the cause of the destruction of four skiffs, Ghashiun had said very little. Part of this was shame, but a greater part was fear of saying anything to further agitate Aang. This was the reason everyone had made sure he was kept out of the Avatar's sight until the group reached the city.

"I see you do." Desierto said, coming to the front. The wolf-man had been an essential part of getting this ride from the Sandbenders. While they did want to help, many of them had become fearful of Aang after his outburst and were…. _reluctant_ to travel with him. But Desierto, as the representative of the Desert Architect Nabu, had been able to convince the Sandbenders that no harm would come to them under his watch.

"Now then," the wolf-man continued, as Katara and Sokka began to remove the group's supplies from the skiffs. "We're going to need a guide in the city, as well as someone who can find the trader that has Appa. I think it's only fair that Ghashiun be that guide."

But as soon as the wolf said those words, Sha-Mo shook his head. "I am sorry great Sandshifter, but we cannot help you any further."

"Sha-Mo, we would not leave him here. As soon as we find Appa, we'll return him."

"It is not that. We do trust you in that. It is that…"

"It's that you want to cut and run!" Aang said angrily, as he forced he way to the front. Pointing his finger directly at Sha-Mo, the angry Airbender continued. "You think taking us here is enough, and now you want to run away! Well it's not enough! He stole Appa and he's going to help me find him, if I have to drag him into the city myself!"

"Aang calm down." Katara said gently, as she placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "The Sandbenders took us here to help. They deserve a chance to speak." Turning to Sha-Mo, the young Waterbender asked, "Why can't Ghashiun come?"

"We Sandbenders were banished from Ba Sing Se long ago for our percieved cowardice concerning the war." Sha-Mo explained, with a wary look at Aang. "The punishment for any Sandbender found inside is death."

Katara grimaced at this unplesant news, but said, "All right, then Ghashiun needs to tell us about the merchant he traded Appa to."

Sha-Mo nodded and pulled his son up to speak, though the boy was clearly terrifed to be so close to Aang. Speaking quickly, Ghashiun sputtered out a description. "H-He said h-his name w-was Hakin. H-He was a-a Watertribe m-mercahnt, t-tall and d-dressed in f-fancy c-clothes. H-He smelled l-like fish o-or something, though, a-and he c-carried a bunch of pouches w-with him. I-I don't know if he was going t-to trade the bison anytime s-soon."

"Thank you." Desierto said to the boy, who having done his duty, quickly returned to his spot away from the Avatar.

"I am sorry again for all this, Avatar." Sha-Mo said, as the other Sandbenders began to climb back into the skiffs. "I wish there was more we could do help you…"

"Just go." Aang said, in a cold voice. Sha-Mo nodded, then quickly got into a skiff and within seconds, the Sandbenders had taken off.

"Aang, you didn't need to say that." Katara said, as the Avatar turned towards the gate. "He was trying to apologize." But if Aang had heard, he didn't care; he just kept walking towards the gate.

Sighing, Katara turned back to the others and began to pick up her pack, though she voiced her thoughts. "He's getting worse, isn't he?"

"You think?" Sokka asked, as he threw on his own pack. "Aang is either insanely depressed, or insanely angry all the time. It's like there's no middle ground anymore."

"I don't know if it's all bad though." Toph added. "I like to see Twinkletoes being forceful like this, instead of being Mr. Happy all the time."

"Toph, this isn't a good thing." Katara said. "Aang's not keeping it focused anymore. If we don't find Appa soon, I don't know what he'll do." Turning to the Knights, she asked, "Isn't there anything that you can do about it?"

"I wish there was." Oscuridad answered. "But none of us can change his feelings. Luz or I could've masked them once, but they're too intense now, and besides, doing that could affect his connection with his past lives."

"And that's a bad thing?" Tierra asked suddenly. As the others all turned to face him, the dog said, "What? We're all thinking it, so I might as well say it. Aang could go into the Avatar State for anything right now. And if he goes in as angry as he is right now, he could cause some serious destruction."

"That won't happen. Besides, Katara can calm him down." Aire said.

"But what if she can't? What he goes in so deep that none of us can bring him out? And if he does, what are our options? I'll tell you what they are. If Aang goes that far, we would have to kill him. There would be no other way to stop him in that State. And if we kill him there, we kill the Avatar Cycle."

"So what are you saying? That we should get ready to kill him and then go after the Fire-Lord ourselves?" Luz asked angrily.

"No. What I'm saying is that we need to start realizing what we are dealing with here and figure out _how_ to deal with it, instead of standing around noticing it and wishing we could help." Tierra finished.

There was quiet for a moment, then Aang's voice rang out from the gate; "Are you guys coming or what?" The group all looked at each other, then rose up and began walking towards the gate, though Tierra's words hung in all their minds.


	2. Refugees

Chap. 2

Refugees

All day, the torture had been inflicted. With each passing second, he had prayed for relief, and for a moment, it had seemed possible. But relief was again dashed from his grasp and finally, he was forced to answer his tormentor…..

"Uncle, ENOUGH!" Zuko cried out as he faced his singing, and now dancing uncle.

"But Zuko, the people are enjoying it so." Iroh exclaimed as he paused in his spiel. "Look they're throwing money in my hat."

"They're doing that to make you stop!" Zuko yelled. "It's humilating enough we have to beg, can you at least do it with some dignity?"

Shaking his head, Iroh obeyed his nephew's request and sat back down. Though he knew that Zuko was wrong about the entertainment (people had been smiling kindly at Iroh's act all day, with more then a few donations) he did not want to upset him any further. Since the two of them had arrived at Ba Sing Se a week ago, things had not gone as well as they had hoped. Though they were out of the grasp of Azula and the Fire Nation, Zuko and Iroh had been faced with a greater problem; lack of food and shelter.

Since the city was so crowded with refugees, almost every single hovel had been snatched up, and jobs were just as scarce. Few positions were available, and the ones that were had no interest in hiring 'filthy refugees.' It was just as well, since the royally raised Zuko and Iroh had few skills that could be used in the workplace. They had attempted to stave off their current state by trading the few supplies they could live without. But those gains had been lost, and now the two of the were forced to take up the main job of Ba Sing Se refugees; begging for scraps.

"I don't suppose you have heard anything about that job that might be open?" Iroh asked, knowing that Zuko had been paying attention to the word on the street, hoping to find them employment.

But the former prince shook his head. "No Uncle, I haven't heard anything more. And besides, we are not going to work in a tea shop!"

"Come now, you such a job is perfect for me." Iroh said with a laugh.

"You'd probably drink more tea then you sold anyway." Zuko answered. Leaning back, he let the light of the sun stream on his face, then asked, "Uncle, is this all we have to live for now?"

"Zuko, we've had this talk before." Iroh siad with a sigh. "I don't want to stay here forever either. But we have no money, and right now, no plan for the future. We can't go back to the Fire Nation, and you won't even consider the other option…"

"And I still won't." Zuko said sharply, as he broght his head back down. It had been something Iroh had mentioned one night on their travel from the desert. Zuko could still hear the words….

_Perhaps we should find the Avatar after all. We are not that different from him anymore now, as we're both wanted._

Now, as it had then, the words filled Zuko with anger. He was nothing like the Avatar! The Fire Nation wanted the Avatar because the boy represented the last real danger to their campaign. Zuko was only wanted through a mistake, and he would make his father understand it if it took the rest of his life.

But each time he thought about it, a nagging thought kept running through his mind. Zuko had become sickened by what he seen of the campaign's destruction on his time at sea. He had held his tongue as best he could, but it continually got harder for him to think of the Fire Nation as the honorable, noble institution he had been taught it was. It had become even harder to rectify the actions of his father. And now, that Zuko's home and father had betrayed him, why should he try so hard to return to their grace?

_And the Knights…_ that had also weighed heavily on Zuko's mind. Those ten animal-men, the chosen voices of the gods, coming down all those months ago, and saying the Fire Nation was wrong and the Avatar was to be protected… how could any man dispute that? How could any mere man say that the gods were wrong? And then, when they had said that Zuko was the hope for the Fire Nation, that they saw things in him that no one else had, were they saying he was right to feel the way he did? That his disgust and questioning was the honorable course? These issues had weighed heavily on Zuko's mind, and never let him have peace. It was because of them, he'd come to believe, that he could not master lightning. Zuko had to make his choice, but he didn't know how, and he knew he couldn't do it here, begging for scraps…..

"Nephew." Iroh said, as his touch awoke Zuko from his deep meditation. "It is almost noon. The mission will be open soon, and we can get some food."

Zuko nodded, and he rose to his feet. Turning in the direction of the misson, which had been set up to help feed the refugees of Ba Sing Se, he began to walk towards it. As he walked off, Iroh watched his nephew with a concerned gaze. The former prince's walk was unsteady, and after a moment, he had to stop and shake the cobwebs from his head. It was not a sight Iroh was seeing for the first time, and it was not one he cared to keep seeing. The mission they were headed to did not have the best food in the city; since so much of the government's efforts were towards the war, they could not supply the misson with proper food. Still Iroh was able to make do with the supplies that they were able to buy with their begging money. But the money was not a constant, and the misson often served as their primary means of food.

But Zuko had not taken to that fact so well. His pride barely allowed to him to stand begging, and he had even less stomach (no pun intended) for the misson's food for the 'poor and downtrodden.' Therefore, Zuko had not been eating well in the time they had stayed at Ba Sing Se. He did not show it often, but Iroh could tell his nephew was starting to truly feel the effects. The prince's inner turmoil wasn't helping matters either. Zuko was too distrcted by his demons to even recognize his problems.

_I have to do something before he destroys himself._ Iroh thought as he followed his nephew. _But what? We can't leave the city, and there is no one here to help us. If only there was something I could do besides observe his destruction and wish I could help. _Iroh finished, as he walked towards the misson with those dark thoughts on his mind.


	3. Money Changes Everything

Chap. 3

Money Changes Everything

"Hey let's try that place." Fuego suggested, pointing to a large inn to the right.

"Oh goody, another inn we can get refused by." Sokka muttered, though he moved to check it out. The group had already been by at least five different inns, and each one had said the same thing; full up. Granted it wasn't easy to find a place with room for fourteen people and a lemur, but Sokka was starting to think that they should start preparing to sleep on the ground; well, at least until they could find a way to get to the Royal Palace and tell the King the information about the eclipse.

_At least I'm probably doing better then Katara. _Sokka thought as he walked over to the inn. His sister was not traveling with them at the moment, thanks to Aang. After gaining entrance to the city, Aang had instantly stated that he was going to the marketplace to find Appa. The others had protested, on grounds ranging from not having anything to trade for the bison, to not actually knowing where the marketplace was. But Aang had simply turned and begun walking, Momo following him. Katara had volunteered to accompany him, to help him cover ground (and to keep him from destroying anything). Oscuridad and Trueno had also agreed to come along, telling the others to find an inn for the night and contact them using the weapon-stones when they had.

"You know I may not be able to see this place, but I'm not sure staying here is a good idea." Toph said.

"Thus far, I'd agree with you." Bosque said, as the squirrel gave the inn a grimace. The building was actually quite large, but the outside looked like it hadn't been washed in years. Plus, there appeared to be a discernable stench coming from it.

"Can't we find someplace else?" Aire muttered, placing his hand over his beak.

"We have to try it out." Agua said. Moving up to the door, the cat raised his hand to knock, only to have it rammed in his face before he could put his hand down. As Luz moved to help her brother, the others watched as what seemed to be a wave of people angrily moving out the door.

"And stay out, you welchers!" came an angry voice from behind them. A large, corpulent man, dressed in green and brown, followed the people out, angrily shaking his fist.

"I'm guessing you're the innkeeper?" Luz asked, as the man turned at the sound of her voice.

"Yeah, my name's Jouku. Sorry about that, I had to toss out some people who seemed to think I'm running a poor house."

"Looked like a lot of them." Said Desierto, as the others came.

"A couple of families, fourteen in all, took my two biggest rooms, then don't pay a cent for three weeks." Jouku muttered angrily.

"Is anyone else thinking 'dues ex machina?'" Fuego asked. The Knights, who actually knew what that term nodded, but Sokka pressed on to more immediate concerns.

"How much for the rooms? We're about the same number and we need a place to stay." Sokka asked.

"About fifty gold pieces for the week."

"What!" Sokka cried out. "We don't have that kind of money!"

"Then I guess you won't get a room." Jouku said, as he spat on his hands and wiped them clean. "Pity, I could really use the money."

"Yeah I can tell." Toph said.

"And how's that, little blind miss?" the innkeep asked sarcastically.

"I'm guessing you haven't had enough to buy soap in a while. _Whoooo!"_ Toph replied, waving her hand in front of her face for emphasis.

Jouku's face turned an ugly red at that. "Why you little…." He sputtered, as he began to reach for Toph's neck.

"Hold on!" Hierro said, positioning himself between the innkeep and the girl. "Look, we've been traveling through the desert for the last couple of days and we're all a bit frayed." The spider explained, trying to calm Jouku. "I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"I don't care! No one insults me like that, especially some weak little blind brat!" the innkeep shot back.

Toph's face instantly turned the same shade of dark red at the comment, and she began to bring up her arms in an Earthbending stance. But before she could finish it, Tierra clasped her arms together and forced them down. "Let it go." He whispered, as Hierro continued to talk to Jouku.

"If you'll just calm down, I can make all of us happy." The spider explained.

"Yeah? How's that?"

"We want rooms. You want money."

"Don't try it!" Jouku spat. "I know you don't have a cent, so don't even bother…"

But Hierro merely reached in his tunic, and pulled out a small leather sack. Dropping it into the innkeep's hand, he said, "There should be fifty gold pieces in there, plus an additional twenty for your troubles." The spider said.

Eyes gleaming, Jouku opened the sack and peered inside. As the light reflected off the gold danced on his face, he grinned with glee. Shutting the sack, he said, "My apologies good sirs and ladies. Please, allow me to escort you to your rooms."

"Glad to hear it." The spider said, as the innkeep began to walk to the inn, the group following.

* * *

"Here we are." Iroh said, as he and Zuko reached the mission steps. "I wonder if they'll have soup today."

"Why should it make a difference?" Zuko asked, with almost no emotion in his voice.

"It usually comes with some bread. Plus, it's the only thing they make with meat in it." Iroh answered, as he and Zuko entered the misson.

* * *

"C'mon tell me." Sokka asked, for at least the hundredth time as the group continued to unpack. Contrary to the inn's outer appearance, the inside was rather clean and spacious. The walls were solid rock, and perhaps due to that and the fact the inn fell in the shadows of it's surrounding buildings, the temperature was quite cool. The rooms the groups had been given were spacious and looked as though they could fit twenty. There were some comfortable beds and chairs, as well as other random pieces of furniture. However, Hierro had not been able to enjoy it, because Sokka continually kept asking him where the money had come from.

"Have you been holding out on us?" Sokka asked, as Hierro tried to unpack. "You have haven't you? You've probably been off eating fancy meats while we've eaten nuts! I would have liked fancy meats! I would have liked them a whole lot better then those hard gray nuts that broke my teeth!"

"Those were rocks." Hierro answered calmly.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Look if I show you, will you please shut up?" Hierro answered, finally losing his patience.

Sokka nodded his agreement. With a creaking noise, the spider released his four extra arms from their hiding place under his cloak. For a moment, he stretched them out, and then held out his middle right arm in front of Sokka.

"Take a look." He said.

Leaning forward, Sokka looked deep into the palm, though he was somewhat confused as to what this meant. "What is this, some kind of kiddie magic trick?" he asked after his three seconds of patience were up.

"Magic, yes. Kiddie, no." Hierro said, as something began to happen. The skin in the center of the palm began to move around, shifting and rising in a circular pattern. As Sokka watched in amazement, the skin suddenly broke and reformed underneath a gold coin that rose up from the opening.

"Holy…., you can make gold!" Sokka cried in amazement, as he grabbed the coin and looked it over to make sure it was real.

"Gold, silver, steel, any kind of metal, in any kind of shape." Hierro said as he put his arm down, while simultaneously crossing his upper arms. "It is my element after all."

"Hey wait a minute." Sokka said, as his brain came to a startling conclusion. "If you can make money, why didn't you do it before?"

"You didn't ask." Hierro said simply, as he turned back to his unpacking.

"Sokka, just accept it and shut up." Toph muttered, as Sokka began to open his mouth to ask something else. Sokka muttered something, but he did as asked.

* * *

"Thank you, Sister." Iroh said, as the nun poured soup into his bowl, and handed him a piece of bread. Zuko followed, though he merely nodded his thanks. Quietly, the two of them moved over to a table and began to eat. Although in Zuko's case, it was more like bringing the spoon into the soup, then spilling it back into the bowl.

"It's not bad this time." Iroh said, as he took a chunk out of his bread. "They've put in some new herbs. You should try it." But Zuko's silence remained.

"Zuko, you haven't eaten anything for two days, and even that wasn't very much." Iroh said, putting down his spoon and hunk of bread. "I know this isn't much, but you need to keep your strength up."

"Why?" Zuko asked quietly, slowly turning to face his uncle.

"Because you need to survive." Iroh replied, though he feared nothing he could say would help this time. "You have the rest of your life…"

"To beg!" Zuko snarled. "To spend begging for scraps from strangers, and being fed by pitying eyes? If that's all I left to live for, then maybe Azula should capture me and end my life!" With that, Zuko angrily rose from the table and stomped his way out of the mission. Iroh stared at his nephew's exit for a moment, then sighed and turned back to his meal. Zuko had put on these outbursts before since the two had been exiled, and each time he had returned, apologetic and tired. Iroh expected no less this time, but he wondered if they would ever end. Because if they didn't soon, Iroh was afraid Zuko would try something even more dangerous then the lightning defense to regain his pride; something that would end in his death.


	4. In The Market

Chap. 4

In the Market…

"Well, the others know where we are." Agua said, as the glow from his stone dissipated. Placing his trident down, the cat turned to the others and asked, "How we doing on unpacking?"

"We're just about done." Luz answered, as she stowed her pack into a corner of the room. "It'll still be a bit cramped tonight, but it'll be nice to sleep on something soft."

"Speak for yourself." Toph said, from her spot on the floor. "I actually like sleeping on the ground."

"You also like covering yourself with rock and pretending you're some kind of earth demon." Sokka said back.

"What's wrong with that? Would you rather I play with dolls?" Toph retorted.

"No, but afterwards your skin's brown enough to make look you like you belong to the Water-Tribes." Sokka answered with a laugh.

"So the people of the Water-Tribe are brown-skinned?" Toph asked in confusion.

"Huh?" Sokka said, equally confused at the obvious question.

"Sokka, she's blind. She has a little problem with skin color." Tierra said from the chair by the door.

"Oh….. right." Sokka said. Turning back to Agua, he asked, "Are they having any luck finding Appa?"

"Sadly no." Agua replied. "Katara said they found the marketplace, but it's much bigger then they thought. It's actually difficult to find a ten ton, six legged bison in that huge a space with that many traders."

"Maybe the merchant that took him got delayed on the way here." Hierro suggested.

"It's possible, but I think we'd better go and help. The sooner we find Appa, the sooner Aang will calm down." Sokka said as he got to his feet. "Did they give directions?"

"Yeah. It's a bit of a walk though." Agua answered. "We just crossed a desert, how bad can it be?" Toph asked, as she got up and followed Sokka to the door.

"Besides, I need some stuff there." Fuego said. "Now that we can actually get some herbs and stuff, I can make this great soup I know for dinner."

"It's so reassuring to know we crossed a desert for a soup recipe." Tierra replied sarcastically, as the group exited the house.

* * *

Zuko stumbled his way through the marketplace, his mind full of thoughts. Part of him was angry that he had spoken so harshly to his uncle. Iroh had done nothing but support him since the two of them had left the Fire Nation all those years ago. But since they had arrived in the city, Zuko had become sullen and depressed, ready to snap at anything, including his uncle. But it wasn't Iroh's fault they were here, and Zuko hated the childish thinking that had caused him to yell at him. Zuko was a Prince of the Fire Nation; he could survive anything, including indignities such as these.

But that thinking only re-ignited the childish mindset Zuko was trying to extinguish. Why should a Prince have to suffer such indignities? For a life destined for the gutters? To live bereft of his true honor and dignity? _Stop it. _Zuko thought angrily to himself. _I need time to plan what I'm going to do. Azula is still after me, and this is the only place in the world where I have time to figure out how to regain Father's……_

But before Zuko could finish that thought, pain suddenly ripped through his stomach. Groaning, Zuko leaned onto a nearby wall and held his stomach as the world flashed before his eyes. But after a moment, the spell faded, as the others before it had. Sweating, Zuko waited for his eyes to clear, then began to walk again. He'd been having these spells for the last few days; truthfully, Zuko had never eaten the food from the mission, though he'd kept it and the spells hidden from Iroh. His pride simply kept him from being able to eat, despite his hunger and knowledge that it was foolish. And since they had not been able to gain much money from begging, Zuko had had precious little else to eat. Still, the prince pressed on, moving forward by the strength of his will alone.

* * *

"Are you done yet?" Toph asked for the sixth time, as Fuego examined the spices on the stand.

"Almost." The red man replied, as he looked over a few more spices. Toph sighed her impatience as the others muttered theirs. Since leaving the inn, the group had located the marketplace after about half-an-hour and had been searching for Appa for at least that much time. But then, Fuego had noticed an herb stand, filled with all kinds of exotic spices from around the world. His chef's interest aroused, he had been examining them for twenty minutes, while the others stewed.

"How good can a bunch of stupid spices and herbs be?" Toph muttered, as her _very_ limited patience started to reach the breaking point.

"Trust me, you won't be sorry tonight when you're eating my soup." Fuego replied, as he continued to browse.

"Fue, all due respect, how close are you to getting what you need?" Hierro asked.

"Oh, I got that already. I'm just checking out some other stuff."

At that, there was a collective moan, and Sokka said, "That's it, I'm walking!"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Agua said. "But some of us are gonna have to stay behind to help Fuego look when he finishes. And since that's always a long wait whose turn is it this time?"

"Hey, I did it with Aire last time." Bosque quickly stated, pulling up his hands in protest.

"OK then, that means it's Hierro and Trueno's turn." Agua said. "But the old ram's not here so…. Tierra stays too."

"Aw man, why me!" Tierra moaned.

"Because you noticed this place. Besides, he's your _best friend_, remember?"

"Aw no fair. How come the humans don't have to help?" Tierra muttered, though he made sure no one but the Knights heard him. However, seeing Sokka immediately freak out at the notion of remaining behind, Agua said, "Look, we'll settle this in a fair and equal manner." The cat paused, as everyone looked to him for the answer he was suggesting. After a few moments, he finally said, _very_ quickly, "Toph's the newest one, so she stays."

"_WHAT!" _Toph cried out. But Sokka just nodded and said, "That is truly a fair and just system. Now let's go." He said, as he began to walk away, dragging a few Knights with him.

"_HEY, STOP! THIS ISN'T FAIR! GET BACK HERE!" _Toph yelled out as the other, unassigned Knights began to move out. Within seconds, Toph lost their footsteps in the massive vibrations of the crowd, and with them, any chance of leaving.

"This sucks." Toph muttered, as she angrily leaned back against the wall.

"Could be worse." Tierra said.

"Oh yeah, how?"

"I don't know, it's just one of those things you say in moments like this."

"I should earthbend you to the moon right now." Toph growled.

"Wouldn't work on me. Besides, I've already been." The dog answered.

Before Toph could ask a single question about that, Fuego said, "Thanks again for the herbs. I'm sure they'll work great."

"Does that mean what I think it does?" Toph asked, not daring to hope.

"Oh yes it does." Hierro said with glee. "Thank you God!"

"What are you guys so happy about?" Feugo asked, as he walked over to Toph and the Knights, a bag of spices in his hand. "And where'd the others go?"

"They wanted to cover some more ground. Come on, we can catch up." Hierro said, knowing that telling Fuego the truth would do no good.

"Sounds good to me." Fuego said, as he started to walk forward. But as he did, a stray hand in the crowd suddenly came out, and knocked the bag of spices out of his hand.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Fuego snapped, as he bent down to pick up the bag. But as he said those words, the figure the hand belonged to suddenly stopped. Slowly, it stepped out of the crowd and turned to face the group. Hierro and Tierra's eyes widened at the sight of the figure, and even Toph could sense tension in the air. Fuego stopped picking up his herbs and stared in amazement. Finally, he spoke the name on all their minds; "_Zuko?"_

The banished prince was equally shocked to see the Knights in the city. Slowly, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get even one word out, there was a growl and then Tierra leapt through the air and slammed into Zuko knocking him into a nearby stand.

"Tierra, NO! Bad dog!" Fuego yelled, as he raced towards the stand.

"Dammit, why does he always attack first?" Hierro muttered as he followed, Toph trailing behind.

Meanwhile, Tierra and Zuko were struggling around in the remains of the stand, much to the delight of the growing crowd. Finally, the two of them managed to separate and get to their feet.

"What was that for!" Zuko cried out in anger. "I wasn't going to attack you!"

"Given your reputation, I doubt it." Tierra answered. "But if I've changed your mind…."

At that, Zuko instantly fell into an attack stance. Tierra followed, and after a second, the two of them leapt forward. But before they could meet, both of them felt a strong hand wrap around their collars, and with a cry of "KNOCK IT OFF!" they were both hurled back into the walls of the market. Zuko's head snapped back onto the wall, and he fell to the ground instantly. Tierra landed better, but when he looked up, Hierro grabbed his collar again and yelled into his face, "What were you thinking? We do not need this kind of attention right now! And he didn't even attack us!"

"Oh come on, you think he wouldn't?" Tierra asked in shock.

"We won't know now, will we?" Hierro said, "God, why must you always attack first, ask questions later?"

"I don't…." Tierra began, but then he paused as he saw Fuego checking on Zuko on the other side. "I think you might have done it for me." The dog finished. Hierro turned, and saw Zuko lying on the ground, unconscious, as Fuego and Toph looked him over (well, Fuego anyway). Swearing under his breath, Hierro dropped Tierra and moved over to the unconscious.

"He's still breathing ok, and his heart's pumping right." Toph said, her hand on the ground as she 'read' Zuko's vitals. Hearing the others approach, she and Fuego looked up, and the red man asked, "What the hell did you do?"

"I don't know. I didn't throw him that hard. He shouldn't be unconscious." The spider said.

"Well something's wrong with him then, because there's no reason he should be unconscious. Dammit Tierra, why?" Fuego said angrily.

"Gee, maybe the times he's tried to kill us?" the dog replied.

Sighing, the red man said, "It doesn't matter. He didn't throw the first punch. Besides, there must be a reason he's here, and if he was awake, we could learn what it was."

"Actually I could tell you." Said a voice from behind them. "Perhaps over a hot cup of jade tea?"


	5. Dangerous Mercy

Chap. 5

Dangerous Mercy

At the sound of that voice, the group turned to view it's source. Except for Toph, whose face broke out in a smile at the sound of it. As she turned in the direction of the voice, her senses focused on the sound of a strong heartbeat and healthy breathing. They also focused on the scent of tealeaves, though it was buried underneath the scent of grime and dirt. But it made no difference, as the young Earthbender leapt at the form of Iroh and gave the old man a strong hug.

"You're alive!" Toph cried, as Iroh gasped under the strength of her grasp. "I thought you were dying back there… it's so good to know I was wrong."

"Um Toph," Fuego said. "if you don't let him breathe, you won't be wrong."

"Oh, sorry!" Toph said instantly, as she released Iroh. The former general took a deep breath of air, and between inhales, said, "I'm happy to see you as well my dear."

"I'm glad to see you haven't left the world either, General." Fuego said, as he walked over and offered him his hand.

Iroh took it, but whispered, "I don't think calling me that is appropriate here." The red man looked around and realized that the crowd was still staring at them. For a second, he wondered how he was going to get rid of them. Then Hierro, in a stroke of genius, yelled as he pointed to the back end of the market, "Hey, there's free stuff over there!"

Almost instantly, the crowd began a mad dash in the direction that Hierro had pointed to, far away from the group. When the coast was clear, Iroh looked at the spider and said, "Simple but effective. Well done."

"Thanks." Hierro said, as Tierra came up to the front.

"Now that we're alone," the dog said. "if you wouldn't mind, we'd like to hear what has been going on with you and your nephew since we last saw you."

"What's with the politeness?" Toph asked. "I figured you'd try to charge him too. Not that I'd let you."

"Simple." Tierra replied, as he pointed at Iroh. "Him I trust to be sane. Him," as he shifted his finger to Zuko, "I don't."

"Tierra, you are the last person to judge sanity." Hierro said. "But we've got bigger things to worry about." Turning back to Iroh, the spider asked, "What's wrong with Zuko?"

Iroh sighed then, and said, "I'm afraid it's his own pride. Zuko and I have facing…. Hard times lately. Food has not been easy to gather, and what we have enjoyed has been handouts. You know how prideful Zuko is. He refused to eat the food we gathered; he thought I didn't notice. He's started having spells, though he tried to hide that to. About an hour ago, we were eating at the mission, and he became upset. He stormed out, and after I began to worry, I followed him. Then he ran into you."

The Knights were silent then, until Fuego asked, "What sort of hard times?"

"Zuko and I are wanted criminals of the Fire Nation." Iroh said simply.

"That is hard." The red man agreed. Looking down at Zuko, he asked, "How long has it been since he ate?"

"Close to a week."

Fuego was silent a moment, then said, "Come with us. We can give you shelter, and a good meal." He would have continued, but then Fuego felt a hand grasp his shoulder. "Excuse us a moment." He said, as Hierro drew him over.

"Fue, what are you doing?" the spider whispered, as Toph and Tierra came over.

"Being merciful. Is that wrong?" the red man asked.

"Fue, I can understand your motives, but is this really the best thing right now?" Hierro asked. "Aang is on edge because of Appa, we're all terrified of making him angry, and you want to bring his worst enemy home with you?"

"Zuko's not our enemy anymore." Fuego argued. "And we help him, he might become our ally."  
"Oh grow up." Tierra said. "You want to help him because you have that crazy idea that Zuko could redeem his homeland. We all respect him Fue, but Zuko is beyond redemption for himself or anyone. He only cares about regaining his honor and his father's respect."

"And how do you know that?" Fuego snapped. "You want to give up on him because you just see an enemy. Don't you realize the chance we're throwing away? Aang is going to have to learn firebending, Appa or not, and I can't teach him. If we give Iroh and Zuko help, maybe they'll train him, hmm?"

"And can we trust them enough to believe that they won't capture Aang and take him to the Fire Nation instead?" Tierra shot back.

"Look at them! They're wearing filthy rags, and they cut their hair! Do you honestly think they can go back now?" Fuego snapped back.

The argument would have continued further, but then both Toph and Hierro cried, "ENOUGH!" Both Knights stopped then, as Hierro began to speak.

"Look, I'm not sure this is a great idea, and I know Oscuridad and the others won't like it, but I think Fuego has a point. We do need a Firebender, and I don't think Iroh and Zuko are in a position to refuse our hospitality. Now Tierra's right too; this could be a trick. But I think the Knights of the Elements, two bending Masters, a Water Tribe Warrior, and the Avatar can take out a couple of Firebenders."

"Besides, I trust Iroh, and that's enough for me." Toph said defiantly.

Fuego smiled, as Tierra began to mutter under his breath. Turning back to Iroh, the red man asked, "You still want that meal?"

"Are you all agreed on it?" Iroh asked, as he'd had a pretty good idea of what they'd been discussing.

"Three to one, majority rules." Fuego said. "Let's get the boy and go."

Iroh nodded, and moved over to Zuko's unconscious body. He and Fuego picked him up and began to carry him in the direction of the inn, as the others led the way.

* * *

"Here we are." Hierro said a half-an-hour later, as the group returned to the inn. Iroh took one look at it and said, "Well, it certainly looks better then the open street."

"It's better inside, trust me." Fuego said, as he and Iroh lugged Zuko to the door. Toph held it open, and they entered, laying Zuko down on the couch.

"Very nice." Iroh said, as he finally took a look around. "How much did you pay to stay here?"

"A lot and yet nothing at all." Hierro replied mysteriously, as he stretched out his extra arms.

"I'll take your word for it." Iroh said, with a puzzled look on his face. "I don't suppose you have any tea?"

"Not sure." Fuego replied. "But I think I bought some ginseng at the stand. Believe me, you'd prefer that to our usual method of getting tea."

"And what is that?" Iroh asked.

"Bosque grows it himself. The problem is, it's kind of hard to eat something that comes from a seed grown out of a person's arm, even if he does plant it and make it grow."

Iroh grimaced, as the image of the Forest Knight doing just that played out in his mind.

"Believe me, it creeps us out too." Hierro said. "Now Fue, why don't you make Iroh's tea and that soup you talked about, while we take care of Zuko and Iroh tells us exactly what happened to land him in this situation."

The red man nodded, and moved over to the fire-pit to begin cooking. As the red man unloaded pots and ingredients, Hierro turned his attention to the form of Zuko. Looking over the unconscious boy, he suddenly said, "Tierra, toss me the waterskin."

"You think a drink is going to help him?" the dog asked.

"No, but it might help until Fuego gets some food ready." The spider replied.

Shaking his head, Tierra tossed Hierro one of the extra waterkskins the group had been carrying around. The spider caught it in his upper left hand, and by the time he'd turned to Zuko, his middle and lower arms had already opened it and positioned it for Zuko to drink.

"I'm with Tierra on this one.' Toph said, as Hierro went to work. "I don't think Zuko needs water that badly."

"Oh ye of little faith." Hierro said, as he placed the waterskin behind Zuko's lips. "A person can survive a week without food. But they'll only last a few days without water. This'll help him for a bit." Indeed, it seemed to do good almost instantly, as Zuko started, then begin to eagerly drink the water, even reaching up and taking it from Hierro's hand. The prince drank deeply, as if he had never had water before. It was at least four minutes before he put it down, and realized where he was.

"Morning sunshine." Hierro said, as Zuko turned to face the spider. Tierra's hand slowly gripped his hammer, preparing for an attack. But Zuko merely shook his head, and tried to rise.

"Easy Prince. You've had a bad spell." Iroh said, as he gently pushed his nephew back down. "The Knights took us in."

"And.. you.. think that's ok?" Zuko whispered. "They are… our enemies still."

"Maybe, maybe not." Hierro replied. "Your uncle tells us we have something in common now; the Fire Nation doesn't seem too highly of either of us."

At Zuko's head whipped over to Iroh, and despite his weakened state, Zuko yelled, "How could you tell them that! How can you reveal our humiliation?"

But Iroh merely narrowed his eyes at the outburst and replied, "They would have found out regardless of me. And they did bring us here and offer us food. I would hope your pride has not diminished your sense of respect."

Zuko's face became down cast at that, but he still said, "Uncle, they attacked me."

"No, he attacked you." Hierro said, pointing over at Tierra. "And he's not going to do it again, is he?" the spider finished, glaring at the dog. Tierra muttered an angry response, but nodded his agreement.

"Now then, we've got some time before Fuego finishes the food." The spider said. "So why don't you two tell us exactly what happened to put you two into this predicament?"

Zuko looked over at the Knights, but then put his head back down, unable to speak the words. Iroh however could. Clearing his throat, the old general began the tale.

"It began after the attack on the North Pole. You remember that I stood against Zhao's plan to kill the Moon Spirit." The group nodded, and Iroh continued. "Apparently, word reached my brother, and he deemed me a traitor. But since Zuko and I left the North Pole separate from the Fire Nation, we had no idea of what had happened. Eventually, we reached a small refuge and were able to rest following our harrowing journey. Zuko was eager to leave, and resume his search for the Avatar. But that ended one day, when we found someone waiting for us at the refuge; Zuko's sister Azula."

"Hold on a sec." Tierra said, interrupting Iroh. "This girl, does she have long black hair, gold eyes, long fingernails, and have the ability to create lightning?"

"Your suspicions are correct, Groundquake." Iroh said. "Azula is the girl we encountered in that town."

"Then she's the one who struck you down." Toph said. At that, Zuko turned, and noticing the girl for the first time, asked, "Who is this?"

"The name's Toph. I'm Aang's Earthbending teacher." Toph answered putting her arms across her chest defiantly.

"You can bend without sight?" Zuko asked.

Toph's face darkened as she started to get angry, but then Zuko said, "Most impressive."

At that, Toph's anger broke, as both she and the Knights looked at Zuko in surprise. The prince merely shrugged, and motioned for Iroh to continue.

Taking his cue, Iroh said, "Anyway, at the time, Azula said that the Fire Lord wanted us home, and that he had forgiven Zuko. Knowing my brother and my niece, I was suspicious, but Zuko was too eager to go home to listen. So I accompanied him to the ship. But a slip by the captain proved my suspicions correct. Zuko and I fought our way out, and ever since, we've been on the run."

"I should have figured it before." Fuego said from the fire pit, as Iroh finished his story. "I knew the girl at the town looked familiar, but I couldn't place it. You were lucky to escape her Iroh."

"Why? Is this princess good?" Toph asked.

"She's a Master." Zuko answered suddenly. "She was a prodigy as a child, and my father always favored her. He said she was born lucky, while I was lucky to be born."

"And because of that, she's obsessed with making her father happy." Fuego added, as he poured the prepared tea into a small tin cup. "She's also inherited her father's cruelty and ambition. The bitch is crazy, plain and simple." Moving over to the group, the red man handed Iroh his tea. "Thank you." The general said, as he sipped the tea with great pleasure.

"So that's why you came here." Hierro said, as he put the pieces together. "This is the only place where Azula can't get to you. But you can't mean to stay here forever."

"No, we don't." Zuko answered. "But…. I don't know what to do anymore. My home has forsaken me. My father thinks I'm a failure, and my honor is gone. My throne is gone. And I don't know how to reclaim any of it."

There was quiet in the room a moment, then Fuego spoke. "We might be able to help Zuko."

"How? You don't want to trust me remember?"

"At first no. But I think that now things might be different. You haven't been following us since the North Pole. The one time you did find us, you fought with us. I'm gonna go a limb and guess that even finding the Avatar won't get you home now."

Zuko nodded, and the spider continued. "Zuko, maybe we don't have to fight anymore. Maybe we have the same cause now."

But Zuko shook his head. "We may be similar now, but we don't have the same cause."

"Zuko, he may be right." Iroh said. The old general would have continued, but then he sniffed the air, as a delicious aroma filled it. The others also turned their noises to the smell.

"Ahh, soup's on!" Fuego said, as he extinguished the fire pit. Taking a large spoon and a few bowls from the packs, Fuego poured the soup into the bowls, and began to pass them around. Everyone quickly took one, their discussion forgotten in the delicious aroma of the soup. Fuego passed around some spoons, and the group began to eat eagerly. Zuko paused a moment, as if he was wondering whether the food was safe. But after seeing Toph and his uncle eat with relish, Zuko relented to his empty stomach and took a spoonful. True to his word, Fuego had created an amazing soup, but to the starving Zuko it was a royal feast, prepared by the greatest chefs in the world. He dug in eagerly; letting the rich flavor of herbs, vegetables, and Sokka's seal jerky, flow down his throat.

The reaction was unanimous for everyone, and so strong that they all failed to hear the footsteps leading up to the door, failed to hear the voices arguing. But when the door opened, revealing Aang and the others, who stopped arguing and gaped in shock at the sight of Zuko and Iroh, Hierro realized that the fireworks where truly about to begin.


	6. Dark Secrets of the Soul

Chap. 6

Dark Secrets of the Soul

For about ten seconds everyone in the room was stunned into silent immobility. Aang, Katara, Oscuridad, and Trueno stared at Zuko and Iroh. Zuko and Iroh stared back. Toph, Fuego, Hierro, and Tierra waited in the middle. All four of them expected something to happen, likely a fight, but they had no way of knowing. As the seconds ticked away, and Zuko made no move to attack, Hierro and Fuego briefly entertained the notion that everything would be resolved peacefully. But they forgot that Zuko was no longer the one with a temper. For as the two Knights turned, and saw Aang's face begin to change into an all too familiar mask of anger, their eyes widened, and they said perhaps the only thing one can say before a disaster happens; "Oh _shhhhhit_."

Almost instantly, Aang proved the two Knights right, as he whipped his arms out and blasted Zuko with an air attack. The former prince was unprepared for it, and the attack drove him into the wall, where he slid back down to the floor. "Aang wait!" Katara cried out, as Aang began to move forward to finish Zuko off. Iroh stepped in front of the Avatar's path, but then the air crackled as Trueno drew the lightning to him and fired a bolt right at Iroh. But the general was prepared, and with quick mental preparation, he absorbed the lighting and redirected it out an open window. The ram began to draw another bolt, but then felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, the ram saw Oscuirdad's face, as the bat shook his head. Trueno's own face became puzzled, but he did as he was told and dissipated the lightning. Both then watched as Hierro snuck behind Aang and using his multiple arms, trapped the young Avatar by holding a limb in each arm and placing another hand over his mouth, rendering Aang both immobile and unable to airbend.

"Knock it off, Aang!" the spider cried, as Aang struggled fiercely against his bonds. Sighing, the spider closed his eyes, and underneath his tunic, his arms turned to steel, effectively trapping Aang. "You've got no way out now, so you might as well calm down!" Hierro cried out, as Aang continued to struggle.

"Aang, listen to him." Katara said firmly, walking up to the imprisoned Avatar. For a second, the young Airbender kept struggling, then with a visible effort, he brought himself to a halt, and hung limp in Hierro's grasp. Seeing that his friend was no longer a threat, Hierro changed his arms back to normal and let go of Aang.

The Avatar hovered to the ground, then pointed to Zuko, who Iroh was helping to his feet, and demanded, "What are they doing here?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that myself." Oscuridad said, as he looked at Fuego. The red man gulped as he felt the eyes of his brother on him. "Fue, I'm waiting." The bat said.

"Well, it's not as bad as it seems…" Fuego began. "Fuego, how can it be good?" Oscuriad asked. "You've let our enemies into our house! It was bad enough that you led Zuko to the island last time, but this? I don't care what you think, he is not someone we can trust!"

"Osc, it isn't like that anymore." Hierro said, coming to the red man's defense. "Things have changed."

"Well, then you'd better explain how, because I want to know how you three thought it was a good idea to go along with this."

"Hey, I wanted to kill him." Tierra said.

"And I don't care what you think." Toph said. "Iroh's my friend and he needed help."

"What kind of help?" Katara asked.

"He was begging on the streets! What kind do you think?"

Ignoring Toph's rudeness, the Waterbending Master looked at Zuko and Iroh, who had both stood there silently as the argument had gone on. _Maybe there is something to this._ Katara thought. _Why wouldn't Zuko try to capture Aang now that he has an open shot?_ Wanting an answer, Katara turned to Fuego and said, "I think you'd better explain what's been going on with these two."

The red man nodded, and said, "Well, according to Iroh it started after the North Pole……

* * *

"And that's how they got here." Fuego finished, as he related the last of Iroh's tale. The others sat thoughtfully, as they related the story in their minds, Zuko and Iroh standing in the back, waiting for a response. The tale had managed to sober even Aang temporarily, who was beginning to regret his earlier attack. But Oscuridad's face was a stone block, completely unreadable.  
"Osc, I knew you wouldn't like this." Hierro said suddenly. "But look at them. We don't have any real proof they're lying, and besides, how many other chances are we going to get to find Aang a Firebending Master who isn't with the Fire Nation?"

"Besides, they cut their hair." Fuego added. "I don't know what else they can do to prove their case."

"Again with the hair! What does that have to do with anything?" Tierra cried out.

"I know." Aang said. As everyone turned to face the Avatar, he explained, "Firebenders grow their hair long to symbolize their connection to home. The only reason they cut it off is when they lose all their ties to the Fire Nation. It totally cuts them off."

"Really?" Katara asked in shock, as she turned to face Zuko, who merely nodded his reply. "Oscuriad, maybe Fuego was right here." She suggested.

The bat was quiet a moment longer, then said, "I agree. Fuego, I think we owe you an apology."

"And I owe you one too, Zuko. I'm sorry I attacked you." Aang said.

"I apologize too Iroh." Trueno added.

Zuko gave no reply, but Iroh said, "It's all right. You had no reason to trust us before. The question is, what do we do now that we have your trust?"

"Right now, I think we can help each other." Oscuridad said.

"What do you mean?" Iroh asked, though he had an idea of where the discussion was headed.

Oscuridad opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door opened and Sokka's voice rang out; "Hey guys, we didn't have any luck finding Appa….. WHAT THE… ZUKO!"

"Oh not again." Tierra muttered, as he heard the sounds of weapons being drawn.

* * *

After that scuffle died down (with a considerable amount of restraint against Sokka, who was practically foaming at the mouth to get Zuko), Fuego and Iroh explained what was going on, relating the tale once again. The Knights managed to accept it, but Sokka kept an angry expression on his face, as he sat in a chair, hand around his club.

"So what were you saying before, Nightstalker?" Iroh asked, as the two resumed their discussion.

"Call me Oscuridad. It's pretty simple. You and Zuko need food, shelter, and a chance to go against Azula. We need a Firebender to train Aang."

"Can't he do it?" Zuko asked, pointing at Fuego.

"We Knights are forbidden from training mortals. It's a long story." Oscuridad replied. "But your uncle is a Firebending Master, and we aren't going to find a lot of those outside the Fire Army. So, what do you say General?"

But Iroh had already reflected on this possibility, and knew his answer. But being Iroh, he had to present a bit of a front. "If we were to do this, would Zuko and I end up with you, fighting against the Fire Lord when the Avatar comes for him?"

"I would hope so." The bat replied.

Iroh was quiet a moment, and then said, "Very well. I will train the Avatar when he finishes his Earthbending training. As long as Fuego keeps making that excellent tea."

The red man nodded his agreement, but Zuko did not take to the decision as well. "Uncle, what are you saying!" the former prince cried out. "You can't do this, you're betraying our home!"

"No Zuko, I am not." Iroh replied calmly. "I have tried to reconcile what the Fire Nation has done in my mind for many years, and I cannot keep the truth at bay any longer. Zuko, your father is a tyrant that has led our homeland into blood and chaos. The Fire Nation has given up honor for power, and our honorable ancestors have been replaced by spoiled children. I had hoped you would come to these conclusions yourself one day, but your pride blinds you, as does your love for Ozai. But Zuko, your father will never allow you back. If you had brought him the Avatar, he would have taken the boy and thrown you back out onto the sea."

"NO!" Zuko screamed out, as he kicked over a table in his anger. "You're wrong Uncle! My father will accept me back! I am his loyal son! He loves me, and I will _not_ abandon him!" Pushing through the others, Zuko made his way to the door. But as he laid his fingers on the knob, Oscuridad said, "Zuko, you've never believed he loved you before. Why lie and say you do now?"

At that, Zuko's hand stopped touching the knob. Standing there, his body shaking, the banished prince, in a barely controlled voice, said, "What. Did. You. Say?"

"The truth, Zuko." The bat replied. "Has it been so long that you've forgotten what it sounds like?" Zuko whirled around, ready to strangle the bat, but Oscuirdad continued. "You've been lying to yourself for three years Zuko. About your quest, your father, everything. Despite everything that you've seen, everything you've wrestled with, you cling to your image of your father and his dream. But you don't see it Zuko, not at all. You know what your father wants is wrong. You know it's everything you don't want to be."

Zuko's face had become a mask of barely contained emotion. As they looked on, the group wondered if he was about to cry. Softly, Zuko asked, "How do you know this?"

"I'm the Knight of Shadow. It means more then walking through darkness, or turning the sun black. I can see into a person's heart, Zuko. I can see the secrets they keep in the dark corners of their souls, as well as their fears. I can see the secrets they keep from others and from themselves." "

"Stop keeping them there Zuko. Admit the truth. Your father never loved you. He considers you an embarrassment. Your quest to find the Avatar was one you were never supposed to come back from. The things you've seen are proof that the Fire Nation has no honor, and will destroy the world if they're not stopped. But it isn't all bad Zuko. You also know that your uncle has been more of a father to you in the last three years then your father has ever been. And you know that we have shown you more respect and kindness then anyone ever has, except your uncle and your mother. Do you remember what she told you before she left? Never forget who you are. You are an honorable, good-hearted person who does not want to see people suffer. Why are you trying to be like people so unlike you? Why are betraying your mother's last wish?"

For a second, Zuko's face shook, as some unseen emotion was running through his soul. He whirled around, and tried to open the door before anyone could see him like this. But Oscuridad's words had come from the depths of Zuko's soul, and they had cut him to the bone. As soon as Zuko touched the doorknob, he felt the emotional dam inside him break. He fell against the door, and then, as the others stared in utter shock, Zuko sank to the floor and began to weep uncontrollably, his face still plastered against the wood. The others stared with shocked expressions; in all the time they had known Zuko, they had never thought they would live to see him cry. And as such, they had no idea what to do. But Iroh did. The former general got to his feet and walked over to his crying nephew. Iroh sat down, and wrapped his arms around him, letting Zuko pour all of his frustrations onto him. As they sat there, Luz rose, and motioned for the others to leave. The group nodded, and left the room, leaving Zuko and Iroh alone with their sorrows.


	7. Zuko's Decision

Well boys and girls, I managed to find a working connection down here at the shore, so here's the new chapter a few days early. And I've three more already written so you'll see plenty over the next few days. Enjoy!

Chap. 7

Zuko's Decision

"How long has it been?" Katara asked, as she looked back at the door to the main room.

"Almost an hour." Luz replied, as she looked at the fading light coming in through the window. The group had been inside the kitchen, waiting for Zuko to work through his sorrows in privacy. Most of them felt sympathy for Zuko; having your darkest secrets revealed to you like that was something that no one could withstand. But there were a few in the group that didn't care about the inner turmoil that Zuko was going through…

"I can't believe that we're doing this." Sokka muttered.

"What, giving Zuko some privacy?" Aang asked.

"No, letting him stay in here in the first place!" Sokka yelled back, as he got his feet. Pacing around, he asked, "Have you guys forgotten what he's done to us? All the times he's chased us, the destruction he's caused?"

"Sokka, he chased us because he didn't have a choice!" Katara yelled back at her brother. "And can you actually think of any real destruction you've seen him cause? Even when we met him at the South Pole, he let us go once Aang surrendered. Maybe if you could past the fact he's a Firebender, you'd see that."

"Are you actually defending him?" Sokka snapped back. "Don't you remember when he kidnapped you at the river? When he threatened Gran-Gran? When he threatened you at the docks?"

"Yes I do Sokka." Katara answered, her voice becoming tinged with even more anger. "And I hated him too. But I seem to be able to remember what Fuego told us about him. And I seem to be able to remember what just happened out there that made him cry. He doesn't have anything Sokka; his home, his family, it's all gone, and now he can never get it back. Doesn't that make you feel even a little sorry for him?"

"It's no more then he deserves." Sokka cried back. But this time, it was Oscuridad that rebuked him. "And who are you to choose his punishment, Sokka?" the bat asked, as he leaned forward in his chair. "How many times have we had Zuko at our mercy? How many times have you, or I, or Aang been capable of leaving him to die?"

"It's a pity that we didn't then." Sokka answered.

"Pity?" Oscuriad repeated in surprise. "I can't speak for you, but it was pity that stayed my hand. It was pity that stayed Aang's. Many that live deserve death, Sokka. And many that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?"

Sokka didn't have an answer for that, so he remained silent. The bat shook his head, and said, "Don't be so eager to deal out death and judgment Sokka. Most of those choices cannot be taken back, and they all stay with you the rest of your life."

As Oscuirdad leaned back in his chair, Trueno leaned over and whispered, "Well said, Mithrandir."

"Don't tell the others that. I'd like them to believe I'm actually that eloquent." The bat whispered back.

"Indeed." The ram answered. "But there is something I want to know." The ram said, speaking normally now. "Was it really pity that made you stop me before?"

"In part." The bat answered thoughtfully. "But I also noticed how ragged and disheveled they both looked. Plus, Zuko did not instantly attack Aang, and Iroh only acted in self-defense. I wondered why such a headstrong boy like Zuko wouldn't immediately leap after his prey. Besides, I had enough faith in Fuego to know that even he wouldn't bring Zuko and Iroh here and feed them unless the situation had changed."

"Really?" the red man asked from his spot on the floor. "Then what was with the speech about our enemies?"

"Well I didn't know everything. I didn't want either of them to think we were just going to take your word for it, in case it really was a trick."

Fuego snorted at that, and as he finished, the door into the main room suddenly opened. Everyone stood up as Zuko and Iroh walked in. The former prince's eyes were red from crying, and his face was streaked with tears, but he carried himself as proudly as he could.

"You all right?" Fuego asked.

"Yes." Zuko answered. "My uncle and I have made our decision. We will help you with your quest. The two of us no longer have anything to gain by helping the Fire Nation, and we don't seem to do that well on our own."

"Well, at least not well enough to survive." Iroh added.

"I'm glad to hear that." Oscuridad said, as he got up from his chair. "And I think we can change your survival ratings. But I want both of you to know, this is not a one way street. Zuko, your uncle has promised to train Aang in Firebending, but that time has not yet come, and you did not promise anything. Therefore, until that time comes, both of you are going to help us in smaller ways, and in our main quest at the moment."

"And what does that mean?" Zuko asked.

"Helping with cleaning, supplies, cooking, all the like." The bat replied. "Also, tomorrow, you will be searching the marketplace with us for Appa."

"What's an Appa?" Iroh asked.

"My bison." Aang answered, as he came to the front as well. "He was stolen in the desert and traded to someone here in the marketplace."

"I see. Well then our alliance is truly fortunate for you." Iroh said. "I am the best haggler in the Fire Nation. Once we find him, I'm sure I'll be able to get him back at a good price."

Aang smiled at that; the young Airbender knew that he and Iroh were going to get along great. But as he turned his attention to Zuko, Aang thought things were going to be more difficult with him. Zuko's face was drawn into a frown, and had been ever since Oscuirad had explained his duties to him. And as Bosque began to speak, that frown began to deepen.

"Well, now that's settled, I think it's about time for dinner. Fuego, you have enough stuff to feed all of us?"

"Plenty." The red man answered. "I should enough soup in about an hour. But I'm gonna need more kindling."

"No problem. There's a big pile of wood outside. I should have plenty of kindling for you." The squirrel said, as he drew his axe. "Hey Hierro, make Zuko an axe and send him outside in a minute."

"What for?" Zuko asked.

"You're going to start earning your keep." Bosque answered.

"I don't think so." Zuko replied. "I'll go into the marketplace, but I am not going to do servant's work."

"Look around you, do you see any servants?" Bosque asked, his voice tinged with anger. "We all do our part here Zuko, and if you want to stay with us, you will too. You're not a prince anymore, and it's time you realized that."

Iroh shook his head then, as he knew what Bosque's words were about to do. Sure enough, Zuko's temper flared and he yelled back, "How dare you tell me who I am! I was born Prince of the Fire Nation, and nothing you can do will ever change that!"

"I don't need to. Your father already did!" Bosque snapped back.

Everyone gasped then, as Zuko's eyes blazed. "That does it! I am not going to waste my time doing demeaning work, and I am not going to travel a filthy, disgusting marketplace looking for a worthless animal!"

Now it was Katara's turn to shake her head, as Aang's temper flared up. "You shut up about Appa!" the Avatar cried, leaping over to stand in front of Zuko. "He save my life more times then I can count, and he's the reason you could never capture me! He is not worthless, and you are going to help me find him!"

"Make me!" Zuko sneered back, as he held up his hands in a defensive stance. Aang met the stance and the two of them began to circle each other. But before they could come to blows, Iroh stepped in front of them and pushed them apart. "ENOUGH!" the former general yelled.

Turning to Aang, Iroh said, "You are the Avatar. You above all else know the importance of control. If you cannot control your temper because of the words of a foolish boy, how do you expect to control it long enough to find your bison? How do you expect to control it when you face the Fire Lord?" At that, Aang hung his head low, feeling quite chastened. Nodding, Iroh turned his attention back to his nephew. "As for you…" Iroh grabbed Zuko's collar and dragged the boy back into the main room, as if he was a small child. The door slammed behind them, as the group looked at each other in shock.

"Wow, he _is_ good." Toph whispered.

"You should've seen him in his prime." Fuego answered. "Man could silence any dispute just by looking at the people involved."

"Let's hope he's still got some of that left." Bosque said, as he walked outside through the back door to begin his task.


	8. Pride and Kingship

Chap. 8

Pride and Kingship

"Uncle, enough!" Zuko yelled, as Iroh dragged him into the room. The former general seemed to agree, as he roughly released his grip on the boy's collar. Zuko was spun around, and then regained his footing. "How could you humiliate me like that?" Zuko cried out, as he faced his uncle. "You treated me like I was a child!"

"What did you think you were acting like?" Iroh yelled back. At that, Zuko actually stopped and pulled back. He had seen his uncle in many states; contentment, happiness, stern, battle-ready. But he had never seen Iroh angry like this, at least not at him.

"How can you continue to act like this Zuko?" Iroh continued. "It is hard enough that we must now earn the trust of former enemies, but you had to dishonor yourself before the Elemental Knights? They are the chosen of the Gods, Zuko! They have power that no man could ever hope to wield or understand. And they are completely willing to humble themselves for the good of others! They are willing to work hard, no matter the task! But not you, you have to cling to your arrogant pride! The Forester was right Zuko, you are not the crown prince of the Fire Nation anymore. You are no better then the children in that room! You are a peasant now, and if you ever want that to change, you must throw away this pride before it consumes you!"

"U-Uncle, I-I am sorry." Zuko sputtered. "I-I didn't mean to show disrespect. It's just, well, being the prince, even in memory, is all I have to hold on to."

Iroh sighed then, and said, "I understand Zuko. It's just that…… when get like this, you remind me of your father."

"I do?"

"Ozai never wanted to demean himself either. He saw work like chopping wood as peasant tasks, not worthy of his royal talents. He was the same way with his conquests when we were younger. He would send out ships or troops to weaken the enemy, then come in and finish them when they were in their death-throes. He would divide up the spoils, leaving himself the best of whatever they had to offer; gold, jewels, supplies, women, it was all for Ozai."

"Father truly did this? How could he act so dishonorably?" Zuko asked in horror.

"It was his right as royalty. But it always disgusted your grandfather and myself. That is why when I went to Ba Sing Se, Father was proud that I always led the charges when I needed to do, and divided up the spoils honorably with the men. And by doing that Zuko, as well helping out in all the other necessary tasks of the camp, I learned the value of humility. That is what makes a king great, Zuko; understanding that he is not above the people, but one of them, and that his task is to better them and his country, not himself."

"But I can I learn from this, Uncle?" Zuko asked in frustration. "I have no claim to the throne now. The Avatar cannot help me regain that, nor would he now."

But Iroh only chuckled and said, "Zuko, do you not realize the chance we gain by joining forces?" Seeing his nephew's puzzled expression, Iroh explained. "The Avatar's mission is to restore balance to the world. Therefore, he cannot destroy the Fire Nation; doing so would be a greater blow then the loss of the Airbenders. But he does need to redeem it, and the only way he can do that is to dethrone your father. If he does that Zuko, who will rule? Other then you, Azula is the only choice in the bloodline, and if she took the throne, she would keep the war going until the Fire Nation was spent of all it's resources, and all it's glory gone. But you Zuko, you are the first-born son. You are the rightful heir, banished or not, and you have more claim to the throne then Azula ever could. The Avatar is your chance to regain what you have lost Zuko. He is your chance to regain your honor and your throne."

Zuko's eyes widened, as the truth of Iroh's words sunk in. Ozai would have to leave the throne, and the Avatar would never leave it to Azula, not if he ever wanted the war to end. For the first time in years, Zuko saw hope that everything could be returned to him, not through a fool's quest, but through honor and glory. But Zuko knew he was his father's son, and he could not be the Fire Lord Ozai was. No, he had to learn the things that his father never did, the things that he threw away because of pride….

"I think I have wood to chop Uncle." Zuko said quietly, as he moved his way to the door. As Iroh watched, Zuko entered the room, where the others were waiting. As Zuko entered the room, they all rose, most with angry faces. Yet Zuko faced them all, and said, in a voice swimming in humility, "I…. Apologize. I had no right to ignore my duties, or to dispute your wise choices. You have offered your hospitality to me and I foolishly threw aside my chance to return it. I promise, I will do all I can to help."

"And?" Aang added, still angry from their argument.

"And I was wrong to call your bison stupid. He's been invaluable to you and I will do the best I can to help you find him."

"I'm glad to hear that Zuko." Hierro said. "And if you really want to help, I know something you can do to help." With that, Hierro held out one of his hands, and as Zuko watched, it suddenly grew and changed into a short handled axe. Grasping it in another hand, the spider snapped it off, and tossed it to Zuko. The prince caught it, and then watched as a new hand grew out of the stump.

"Bosque is waiting outside." Hierro said.

"Right." Zuko said, as he looked down at the axe with a strange wonder. Shaking his head, the former prince headed out the back door and into the back yard.

As the door shut behind him, Zuko saw the fugure of Bosque, chopping away at a log. The squirrel, who had shed his cape and tunic in the heat, would take a log, place it on a large stump in the middle of the yard, then bring his axe down, splitting it into two pieces. Seeing the axe, Zuko remembered his uncle's words; the axe was a beautiful weapon, decorated with carvings of leaves and branches, with a long curving head. Yet Bosque was using for something as simple as splitting wood. Zuko watched for a few moments, admiring the axe as well as studying the process since he had never done it before. But after a minute, Bosque said, "You gonna help, or you gonna stand there all day?"

"Oh right." Zuko muttered, as he moved over to the woodpile and took a large log. Of course, then he turned and realized he had no place to cut the wood. But a second later, a large stump suddenly grew out of the ground right next to him. Turning to see it, Zuko said, "Thanks. And I'm sorry."

"Thank me by getting the job done. Goes for the apology too." Bosque said, as he took another log from the pile. Zuko placed his log on the stump, and watched as Bosque placed his down. The two drew up their axes in unison, and then both slammed them down, as four pieces of wood dropped.

"Not bad, for a prince." Bosque said, as Zuko looked over his handiwork. Zuko simply nodded and took two pieces of wood from the pile. Tossing one to Bosque, he placed his down on the stump, and then the two of them brought their axes down in unison once again. As they continued to repeat the process, Iroh watched from the house, a smile on his face at his nephew's progress.


	9. Iroh's Idea

Chap. 9

Iroh's Idea

After that, things between Zuko and the others calmed down. Even though he was still weak from his time without food, Zuko worked as hard as he could to earn his keep. For the next week, the former prince was a bright shining beacon of humility, doing whatever he was asked to do with barely a complaint. Whether it was getting supplies in the marketplace, looking for Appa, or whatever, Zuko performed it to the best of his ability. While Iroh could not do as much, he proved to be an excellent mediator and advisor to the group. Slowly, they began to earn the respect of the group with only a few exceptions; Sokka and Tierra both could not get over their distrust of the Firebenders, mainly Zuko. But they managed to keep their feelings in check, until one day…..

"Did you get the salt I asked for?" Fuego asked from his porch chair Momo in his lap, as Zuko returned from the herb stand, his arms burdened with supplies. Groaning under the strain, Zuko managed to deposit his load on the front porch without damaging anything.

"The merchant…. Was out…. But he said….. this would do." Zuko panted, as he withdrew a small vial from his tunic. Taking it, the red man popped the cork, sniffed, and said, "Rock salt. It'll do. Thanks."

Zuko's response was to collapse into the second porch chair. "How can making a meal require so much?" he asked between breaths.

"You want it to be good don't you?" Fuego answered with a smile. "Besides, you need as much nourishment as you can get."

"You've been feeding me for a week. I think I'll be all right on my own." Zuko replied. "Besides, Uncle is enough of a nag on me."

"Is that you Zuko?" Iroh said suddenly as he walked out the front door. "Did you get me my tea?" Sighing, Zuko dug in the pile, and drew out a container of jasmine.

"At last!" Iroh said in pure joy as he took the container. "I have been waiting for this for ages! Now I can finally calm my nerves with its gentle flavor."

"If that's the case, make me a cup too." Fuego said. "God knows I could use one today."

"Why? What's going on?" Zuko asked.

Sighing Fuego said, "You know how we split up when everybody was going to the market for Appa? Well, apparently Aang's been going every day regardless of it being his turn or not, and Toph and Katara are mad at him for neglecting his training. They've been arguing all morning."

"Sounds like the Avatar needs to listen to them. Obsessing like this is selfish." Zuko said.

Iroh and Fuego both looked at each other, then laughed. "Are you ever going to call him Aang?" Fuego said, chucking the whole while. "But I guess if anyone knows about obsession, it's you."

"Indeed." Zuko answered, his expression not changing. "I knew this would be a problem when Sokka suggested splitting up the days."

"Well you cannot blame him." Iroh said. "He's been quite eager to find a way to get to the palace and traveling with Aang these days just means searching the market."

"It's kinda sad really. Two kids with their own obsessions." Fuego said as he stroked Momo. "Aang with Appa, and Sokka with the eclipse."

"I'm still surprised you were able to discover the library that held that scroll." Iroh said. "That information was never allowed outside of the Fire Nation." Zuko nodded his agreement. "Hey, we got lucky. Frankly, I can't believe it was something so simple." Fuego said. "Especially after what happened in the North Pole when the moon went out. God, so obvious!"

"Well, at least there'll be two Firebenders prepared for it." Zuko said. "I'll be glad to see my father's forces taken down, even it is for such a brief moment."

"Indeed. Although it still surprises me that you trusted us enough to tell us of your plans." Iroh said.

"Hey, you two have earned some trust, and knowing the Fire Nation, it won't make too much difference even if they do find out; they base so much of their campaign in their bending power, they'll be crippled no matter what they do. Besides, Sokka only griped about it for an hour." Fuego said. "For him, that's actually pretty good."

Both Firebenders smiled at that, but the enjoyment was short lived, as the door suddenly swung open, and an extremely angry Avatar stomped his way out.

"Aang, get back here!" Katara yelled out, as she exited, Toph following right behind.

"Twinkletoes, get your butt over here!" the young Earthmover cried out as well, but Aang didn't care. Whirling around, Aang yelled out, "I'm not training! Appa is out there and he needs me! Everything else can wait!"

"Oh no it can't!" Toph cried back. "What do you think, the week you wasted will just come back? You're not losing any more time, so get in that yard and start Earthbending!"

"I'm the Avatar! I'll decide when I train!" Aang shot back.

As Toph shot back with another insult, Katara sighed and turned to Fuego and the others.

"I take it things are not going well?" Iroh asked.

"He won't listen to me or Toph. He's still too upset about Appa." Katara answered. "Isn't there something you can do, Uncle Iroh?" (Over the course of the week, Iroh had requested the children refer to him as uncle, which had been difficult at first. But Iroh had been such a warm, pleasant person, that with the exception of Sokka, Katara and the others had started doing it despite their objections)

"I think I can try." Iroh said as he rose to his feet. Slowly, the general walked over to Aang, as Toph launched another insult, that suggested a close relationship between Aang's mother and a goat. Before Aang could return it, he found himself staring into the wide frame of Iroh.

"Perhaps, I might suggest something?" Iroh asked. Aang didn't give a reply, so Iroh continued. "Since you seem quite angry, why not put it into something constructive- like training perhaps?"

"Training won't help me find Appa." Aang answered back, his anger lessened at the moment because of respect of Iroh.

"True, but neither will throwing a tantrum like this." Iroh said. "Besides, think of this; if you learn Earthbending today, you will have plenty of time to search for the trader that took Appa tomorrow. And you will be able to tell Toph no then and be justified."

At that, a smile crossed Aang's face. "All right then." He said, as he moved past Iroh and walked over to the door where Katara and Toph stood.

"You ready Twinkletoes?" Toph asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah. Let's do this." Aang said.

Toph nodded and the two of them headed for the backyard. As they left, Katara looked at Iroh and said, "Thanks. But do you really think that it'll work?"

"It will for today at least." Iroh said. "But I think Aang needs a way to truly burn off his anger. And I think I know one."

"What's that, Uncle?" Zuko asked, as he got to his feet.

"You'll see Zuko. But for now, let's go watch, shall we?"

"All right, get in your stance!" Toph yelled, as she walked around Aang. His face emotionless, Aang obeyed, spreading out his legs, as Fuego, Katara, Momo and the others came to watch. As Aang stood there, Toph paced around, then yelled, "All right pansy, we have a lot of work to catch up on, and I need you ready! Are you! I hoe so, cause you're gonna be moving rocks all day long"

"Actually Toph, I have a better idea." Iroh said. Sighing, Toph turned and said, "Uncle Iroh, I'm Aang's teacher right now, I know what he needs."

"I know, but I believe I have a way for Aang to get a good review of what you have taught him in a short amount of time." Iroh replied.

Intrigued, Toph asked, "What's that?"

"Yeah what's that?" Aang asked, as he started to stand up straight.

"Did I tell you to get out of your stance!" Toph yelled; Aang quickly got back into position.

"I was suggesting that Aang use the moves you've taught him…. With Zuko provoking them." Iroh said. At that, all eyes focused on the former general.

"Uncle, do you really think that's a good idea?" Zuko asked.

"Yes I do. You haven't practiced your firebending in a long while Zuko. We are in a secluded area, and the innkeeper is out on business for the week so there is little chance of you getting caught. This way, both you and the Avatar can regain the skills you've let dull."

"But, what if they hurt each other?" Katara asked. "I mean, there are still some trust issues here."

"And what better way to test trust then by shooting rock and flame at each other?" Iroh asked. "Besides, Toph and Fuego can halt the attacks, and Fuego can heal any injuries."

"Uh, well, jeez, you've got a point there." Fuego said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I still don't like this Uncle." Zuko said.

"Neither do I." Aang added.

"Well, I do." Toph said. "You're gonna have to stop some serious Firebending with Earthbending one day. And if His Highness here needs some practice, let's give it to him. And if you hurt each other, _I'll_ kick your butts. Now let's get ready to rumble!" Aang and Zuko looked at each other with some apprehension, but having no other options, Zuko stripped off his shirt (a common practice among Firebenders when they train) and walked out onto the yard ready to fight.


	10. A Matter of Trust

Chap. 10

A Matter of Trust

Zuko and Aang stared at each other from across the yard. As Katara and Fuego watched, Toph and Iroh stood to the side, ready to instruct their respective charges.

"Zuko, your stance." Iroh called out. The young Firebender quickly moved into his offensive position, as he awaited instruction. Aang remained in his stance, ready to fight at the slightest word. "You two ready?" Toph called out. Both of them gave barely perceptible nods. "Then let's do this! Aang, avalanche now!"

Instantly, Aang leapt up and brought his feet down hard, blasting a huge mass of earth into the air. It hung for a moment, then Aang punched it forward. As it flew towards Zuko, Iroh called out, "Zuko, get ready!"

The former prince brought his arms in close, as the mass of earth came in closer and closer. Finally, just as the mass was about to strike him, Zuko swung his arms out, pushing a huge wave of fire towards it. The flames struck the mass, which halted in mid air as the flames spread over it, then fell to the ground, a fused, blackened piece of earth.

"Well done." Iroh said. "Not bad Twinkletoes, but next time, actually try to hit him." Toph said.

"I thought he did." Iroh answered.

'But he didn't, did he?" Toph said. "Now, let's see how your boy does. Aang, earth shield maneuver!"

"Zuko, charge him!" Iroh yelled out. Zuko nodded, and ignited his flame daggers. Yelling out his charge, Zuko ran towards Aang, who quickly moved into a defensive stance. As Zuko reached the Avatar and whirled around, preparing to drive his daggers downward, Aang suddenly dug his arms deep into the earth, and when he removed them, the were covered in solid rock. Aang quickly brought his left arm up to meet Zuko's charge. As the flame dagger impacted harmlessly on the rock, Zuko whirled, attempting to bring both daggers onto the one arm. But Aang brought his other arm over and met the attack. But Zuko continued to press his attack, whirling around to gain any spot that he could. But Aang was just as fast, and met every attack with a block...

"Wow. I guess this was a good idea." Fuego said from the sidelines, as he and Momo watched intently. The lemur purred in return, to which Fuego nodded. "I think so too. What about you Katara?" But the question was met with silence.

"Katara?" Fuego asked, turning to face the Water-Tribe girl. But Katara's gaze was fixed on the fight, her eyes moving with every twist of the two benders. Fuego looked out, trying to see what, or rather, who she was focused on. But the red man just couldn't tell. Sighing, he placed his hand on her shoulder, and gently shook her. "You ok kid?" he asked.

"Huh?" Katara answered, surprise evident in her voice.

"Sorry, but you were kinda staring into space there. Thought maybe the sun was getting to you."

"No, no, I'm ok. It's just… well mesmerizing to watch." Katara answered.

"That it is." Fuego answered. But as the two of them turned back to watch the fight, Fuego wondered if Katara was referring to the fight, or to one of the fighters. The red man wasn't stupid; he knew about Aang's crush on the girl. It had been evident on more then a few occasions on their journey; Aunt Wu's or the Cave of Two Lovers for example. Fuego didn't know how Katara felt on the matter (she seemed fairly oblivious), but he knew it was not his place to tell her or influence it. Aang had to make his move if he wanted her, and that was something that none of the Knights could help him on...

But with Zuko, who was much closer to Katara's age (both physically and mentally) and had spent so much time earning respect from her and everyone else, Fuego wondered if maybe the former prince was gaining something else from the young girl right now. Plus Zuko already had her sympathy because of Fuego's tale of the boy's scar; the red man just prayed that all of it didn't lead to problems. The last thing anyone wanted to deal with was a jealous Avatar on top of the quick tempered one they were dealing with right now.

Zuko brought the daggers down once more, but this time, Aang managed to trap both of Zuko's arms between the rock shields. As Zuko struggled to move away, Aang mentally brought up the earth behind him, into a large tentacle that towered over both of them. As Zuko saw it, Aang willed it forward, meaning to use to push the former prince down to his knees. But Zuko had a different idea. As it came near him, Zuko suddenly breathed in deep, and then released his fire breath dead on the tentacle. The Earth and Fire met head on, and remained in a stalemate, until little pieces of fiery earth began to fall off the tendril. More then a few of them landed on Aang's sleeve, and as they burned through his shirt, the young Avatar yelped in pain, breaking his concentration. The earth shields fell away, as Aang leapt back, furiously swatting his arms to put out the sparks.

"Aang, are you ok?" Katara yelled, as she got to her feet and started to move towards the young Airbender.  
"Yeah, I think so Katara." Aang gasped, as the last of the fiery earth fell off his sleeves.

"Are you sure? I can get my waterskin and heal you if you want." Katara asked.

"Naw, it wasn't that bad." Aang replied.

"Well, if you're sure. Just be careful; I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't." Aang said, as he turned to back to Zuko. Truthfully, Aang could have used a little healing just then, but he didn't want to worry Katara. Plus, he kinda liked hearing her caring words. It helped him to believe that someday he would be able to tell her how he really felt about her. But that was for another time, which he came to learn a second later when he heard Toph yelling at him.

"What was that? So you had a little fire, big deal! I've had people throwing boulders at me and I never dropped my shields." She went on like this for a few more minutes, as Zuko whispered. "Sorry. I didn't think it would spark like that."

"It's ok. Let's start something else, maybe it'll make Toph stop for a few minutes." Aang whispered back.

Zuko nodded, and the two broke away and began to circle each other, which caused Toph to halt in her tirade. "Get it right this time Aang! I want to see some boulders flying!" "Zuko, remember your basics, and dodge!" Iroh called out as well.

Slowly, Zuko and Aang circled each other, watching for whoever would make the next move. Finally, Zuko's impatience won out, and the former prince unleashed a few fireballs. But moving quickly, Aang drew up the earth into a series of shields that effectively blocked Zuko's attack. Then, when Zuko had to pause and regain his breath, Aang changed strategies; stomping the ground, Aang drew up a series of boulders and launched them at Zuko. But Zuko recovered his breath and with a flaming spin kick, Zuko sent out a fire blast that destroyed the rocks. Aang was not deterred however, and continued his assault.

But when this barrage came at Zuko, the former prince destroyed most of the rocks and caught a smaller one in his hand. As Aang watched, Zuko removed some cloth from his belt and wrapped the rock in it. Igniting his fist, Zuko faced Aang with the now blazing missile and turned to throw it Aang. But as Zuko reared back and prepared to launch the rock at Aang, something jarred the side of the boy's head. Staggering backwards in shock, Zuko couldn't aim the missile properly, and since Aang was surprised by what had happened, he didn't move to avoid it. The flaming rock struck Aang straight in the forehead, and the Avatar instantly fell to the ground.

"Aang!" Katara cried out, as she ran out onto the yard, Fuego and Momo following. As Toph and Iroh moved to check on Zuko, the three of them reached the unconscious Avatar and quickly looked over.

"Looks pretty bad." Fuego said, as he checked the bleeding wound on Aang's forehead, while Momo scampered back to the house after getting a good look. "I think he might even have a concussion."

"Dammit, what happened out there?" Katara swore as she looked around. But the search didn't take too long as she noticed a very familiar boomerang laying on the ground close to Zuko; it ended when she heard her brother's voice call out, "Did I get him?"

"What is wrong with you!" she screamed, as Sokka and the others came in through the side entrance. "Look at what you did!"

"Hey, don't yell at me!" Sokka said back, as the Knights got a look at what had happened. "I saw Zuko over there throwing fire at Aang! I told you not to trust him and look what happened!"

"They were _training_ you idiot!" Katara screamed back. "Didn't you wonder at all why Toph and I weren't helping Aang? Did you? Now Aang's hurt and Zuko's bleeding because of your stupidity!"

Sokka's face dropped a little at that, but he opened his mouth to defend himself. Or at least he tried to, before he heard Aire say, "Shut it kid, you're in enough trouble."

"Goddamnit Sokka, home for five minutes and you cause problems." Luz muttered. Kneeling down, the fox took a look at Aang. "I think I can help him, why doesn't somebody get Katara's waterskin so she can help Zuko and the rest of you can have a nice chat with Sokka?"

But it turned out that no one had to go, as Momo flew out of the house, Katara's waterskin held in his paws. Flying overhead, he dropped it into the young girl's hands. "Thanks Momo." Katara said, as she popped the cork and ran over to Zuko, while the Knights turned their attention to Sokka. The boy prince was sitting down, as Iroh applied some cloth to his bleeding forehead. "It's ok Uncle, I can help him now." Katara said, as she gently pushed the cloth aside. Iroh raised his eyebrows in confusion, but did as he was asked.

The wound underneath the cloth was deep and angry, but Katara gently drew out the water and applied it to the wound. Zuko flinched at the cold touch, but in a moment, his eyes widened as the pain vanished and the wound closed.

"Most impressive." Iroh breathed, as he and Katara helped Zuko to his feet. Meanwhile, Luz held her hand over Aang, as the healing power that all the Knights possessed spread out over the Avatar in a stream of golden light. The wound closed in seconds, and Aang gingerly opened his eyes. "W-What happened?" he asked, as he saw what was going on.

"Sokka was an idiot and he messed up your training. But you should be ok." Luz said, as she extended her hand. Aang took it, but as the fox pulled him to his feet, Aang saw something that opened a new wound in him. Katara was over by Zuko, helping _him_ to his feet, as her waterskin hung open at her side. _She went to Zuko first?_ Aang thought in anguish. _But… I was hurt too, and it must've been worse, if that rock hit me. Why did she…_

"Aang, is everything ok?" Luz asked suddenly. Broken out of his thoughts, Aang muttered, "I'm fine." And turned to the house, the image of Katara and Zuko burning in his mind's eye.


	11. Admittance, Regret, and Betrayal, Part 1

OK, before anyone gets into these two chapters, I need to make something clear about the pairings involved. I have no problem with the idea of Zutara, and if it happens in the show, great, but it isn't going to happen here. Frankly, all the Zutara stories seem to follow the same pattern, and the only evidence anyone has ever been able to present is that one time in "Bato of the Water-Tribe" when Zuko held onto Katara when they were on the animal-thing.

The thing that I really hate with shipping is when people make pairings with the barest of evidence from the show and then can't give any kind of reason to back it up. Even the Sokkla people, which is probably the second craziest paring I know of, made a better case for their pairing. Frankly, I think Kataang is more likely to happen, and that's what is eventually going to happen in my stories. Now, I hope I haven't offended anyone, but that is just how I feel about it. And believe me, when my story is over, I won't be able to write anything Zutara even if I wanted to.

Chap. 11

Admittance, Regret, and Betrayal, Part 1

As the Knights berated Sokka while Iroh and Toph watched, Katara helped Zuko into the house. Aang had already retreated to the space that was serving as his room, so Katara took it upon herself to aid the former prince.

"Really, I'm ok. You don't need to do this." Zuko said, as Katara helped him onto the sofa and handed him his shirt.

"Maybe, but I'd feel better if I did." Katara answered, in a somewhat motherly tone, as she moved over to the fire pit. Sorting through Fuego's assortment of herbs, she asked, "You don't want anything to eat, do you?"

"No that's ok." Zuko said, as he put his shirt back on and tried to get up off of the sofa.

"Hey, get back down!" Katara yelled as she turned her head. Sheepishly, Zuko obeyed, though he rolled his eyes the second Katara's back was to him.

"Ah, here we go." Katara said, as she pulled out some long, teal colored leaves. Moving over to Zuko, she said, "Here, eat these."

"What are they?" Zuko asked.

"Tenaberry leaves. They prevent infection, and you did fall on the ground with that wound. Besides, I don't really know how to heal infections."

Zuko took the leaves, though he wondered if Katara was making up the part about her healing abilities. Opening his mouth, Zuko tossed the leaves inside his mouth and began to chew. A second later though, his eyes bugged out of his head as the leaves' bitter juices flowed over his tongue. But as Zuko's face went through every contortion imaginable, Katara slapped her hands over his mouth and said, "Come on, chew and swallow!" Unable to spit out the leaves, Zuko managed to force them through his mouth and down his throat.

"See, that wasn't so bad." Katara said, as she pulled her hand away. "Now, I'll just make some tea for you." As she walked away, Zuko frantically began to drag his tongue over the sofa's arm, in an attempt to rid himself of the nasty taste of the tenaberry.

_What is with this girl? _Zuko wondered as he finally wiped the last of the taste from his mouth. Looking over at Katara, who was bent over the fire-pit, making some of Iroh's jasmine tea, Zuko thought, _Why is she being so nice to me after everything I did? I can't remember anyone being this worried about me, not since….. _For a second, Zuko actually smiled, as he recalled the time as a child, when he'd come down with a slight fever. He'd been all right in a few days, but his mother had been there every second, comforting him with hot tea, kind words, and more terrible tasting medicines then anyone would have thought existed. Zuko smiled at those pleasant memories of his mother, and as Katara came over to him with his tea, he thought that Katara was more like Ursa then he'd realized.

"Hope you like it." Katara said, as she handed Zuko a warm cup.

"I'm sure I will 'Mom.'" Zuko answered teasingly, as he took the cup.

"Hey I'm just trying to be nice." Katara said defensively, putting her hands on her hips.

"And I appreciate it." Zuko assured her, as he placed the cup down. "But if you don't mind, I'm curious as to why. We were enemies for a long time."

At that, Katara's gaze turned downward, and she said, "I know. And I'm sorry about it."

"You're sorry?" Zuko asked in surprised. "I was the one who chased you."

"I know, but… well….. Fuego told us about what happened with your father and the Agni Kai." Now it was Zuko's turn to cast his eyes downward.

"I felt horrible that it happened to you. But I also felt bad for not trying to understand you. Sokka and I just saw a kid in Fire Nation armor trying to hurt us. I didn't care about why you tried so hard, or how you got scarred. I just saw you as the enemy, and it made it easier to hate you."

"You had a right to." Zuko answered. "I was just a stupid kid in armor. I couldn't accept that my father never wanted me back, and I became so obsessed with it, it took over my life. I stopped caring about anything else, but going home. Besides, after what my people did to your family, I don't blame you or your brother for hating us."

"What they did to my family?" Katara asked in surprise as she turned her head up to look at Zuko.

"Agua told me about your mother." Zuko said gently. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." Katara answered.

"No, but I'm still sorry about it." Zuko said. "I know what it feels like."

"Yeah. Fuego told us about that too." Katara said.

"How do they know so much about us?" Zuko wondered.

"Well, they are the chosen of the gods. I imagine they have to learn a lot about the people they're sent to protect." Katara answered.

"Or maybe they have nothing better to do with their time." Zuko suggested.

"Actually, that may make more sense." Katara said. "I severly doubt that the gods spend time briefing them; 'This one is Sokka. He's Katara's older brother, and a warrior in training."

"He also thinks he knows everything, and eats more meat then anyone else on the planet." Zuko added.

"Plus, he talks in his sleep and has a tiny stuffed seal doll that he sleeps with." Katara said. Zuko gaped a little at that one, but then he began to laugh, as the image of Sokka babbling in his sleep and clutching the doll filled his mind. Katara joined in, and the two of the laughed like old friends.

Aang sat his room, listening to the laughter with an angry expression. The Avatar couldn't hear what was being said, but the fact that Zuko and Katara were talking and laughing just made him angry. Katara was _his_ friend, not Zuko's. Aang had protected her, and she had protected him. They had grown close together, shared hardships together. All Zuko had ever done was attack them and try to hurt them. What did he deserve from her?

_Is that for you to decide, young one? _Said a voce in Aang's head, a voice that sounded like Monk Gyatso. _Should you not have respect for the Prince, given what he has been through?_

"He's trying to take her away from me." Aang muttered.

_Is she yours, Aang? Is Katara no more then an object for you and Zuko to argue over? I think that losing Appa has made you fearful of losing anyone else._

At that, Aang was silent. He knew that Katara wasn't an object, and that she had to make her own choice. And yes, losing Appa had made the idea of losing someone else unbearable to the young Avatar. But it was so hard for him. Aang had never been able to get his feelings for her out in the open, and he had no real experience in doing it. But he'd always thought that he had time to express it. Now with Zuko here, possibly moving in on her…

_Zuko may do that, or he may not. If he does, Katara will have to make her choice. But Aang, if she is going to have a choice, you must express how you feel towards her. _

Aang nodded. Gyatso was right; he couldn't sit here, moping around in the dark anymore. Aang was going to tell Katara exactly how he felt. But as he got to his feet, Aang realized that he had no real idea of what he was going to say. The last thing he wanted was to mess this up, so Aang sat back down and tried to figure out what he was going to say to the girl he loved.

But as Aang pondered his love, and Zuko and Katara talked, someone was making his way through the marketplace of Ba Sing Se. But this was no mere shopper, looking for a good deal. This person knew exactly where he wanted to go, and what he would get when he got there.

Jouku smiled as he made his way through the crowd. It was a smile that most of his tenants had seen on his face quite often, when he had come to get his rent money. Now, Jouku had a chance to gain even more money, and all because of an accident. He had been on his way to do some business in the city, when he realized that he's left his money holder in his room at the inn (a common problem; Jouku always made money, and then lost it). Grumbling, Jouku had made his way back and gotten the holder. But as he had turned to leave, he heard something outside. Looking outside his window, Jouku had gasped in amazement. Some of new tenants he'd gained were in the backyard, and one of them was using Firebending! Pulling back, Jouku had tried to think abuot the young scared boy; he'd come in a few days ago as a guest of some tenants, but he looked very familiar to the innkeeper. Now, after seeing he was a Firebender, Jouku's mind made the connection; the boy was Zuko, the banished prince of the Fire Nation, and the old man he was with had to be General Iroh.

At first, Jouku had planned to go to the government, but then he remembered hearing that the Fire Nation would pay anyone who brought int those traitors quite handsomely, much more then the Earth Kingdom could. Plus, Jouku had heard word that there were some Firebenders at the desert outpost that was beyond Ba Sing Se. It would be impossible for many to reach it, but Jouku knew a few ways to get the Sandbenders to take him across. All he had to do was exit the city and get to the camp some of them kept on the outskirts of the border. Jouku smiled, as he thought of the money that would soon be in his possesion.


	12. Admittance, Regret, and Betrayal, Part 2

Chap. 12

Admittance, Regret, and Betrayal, Part 2

"What was she like?" Zuko asked, after the two of them had stopped laughing.

"Who?" Katara asked.

"Your mother?" Zuko replied. "I'm curious, but if you don't want to talk about it…."

"No it's ok." Katara said. "It's better that I remember her then try to forget because it hurts." She paused a moment, then said, "She was.. very gentle. Everything she did was with such tenderness, such caring. She was always looking out for me and Sokka, making sure we didn't get into trouble. And when we did, she'd chide us, but then turn us over to Dad for the real discipline. Mostly, she'd just let us know she was disappointed in us and that was enough. And she was a great Waterbender. I remember that I could just sit and watch her practice for hours when I was a kid. There was so much grace in what she did, and such power at the same time."

"Is that why you wanted to learn?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah. It's something me and Sokka have in common. I wanted to be like Mom, and he wanted to be like Dad. That's why he tries to be a warrior so badly."

"You mean your father isn't a bender?" Zuko asked.

"No, Mom was the only one with the gift. But Dad was, is, a great warrior. He knew so much about taking care of the village and the family that he didn't need bending. Why, are things different in the Fire Nation?"

"Yes. There, the father is the only one who bends." Zuko explained. "If a girl does have the gift, she isn't allowed to use it once she marries."

"Who thought that up?" Katara snorted.

"According to the Sages, Darya the Fire God. But after seeing Fuego, I'm not so sure."

"Maybe the Fire Lord got his butt by his wife centuries ago, and he made that law because he was a sore loser." Katara suggested.

"Oh sure, blame my family." Zuko said. "Just because the Sages work for my father now doesn't mean they always have. Besides, maybe they just misread something."

"Or maybe, the Fire Lord lost to a girl in make up and a frilly pink dress." Katara answered gleefully.

"You aren't going to drop this, are you?" Zuko said.

"Hey just admit a girl kicked your great-great-great grandfather's butt and I'll stop." Katara answered back.

"Considering you know nothing about the Fire Nation, I'm curious as to how you know this." Zuko said.

"I don't need to. I've been around boys long enough. They always have to win, and they get all pissy when they don't."

"Gee, that's an interesting observation." Zuko said. "So when girls can't get what they want, do they take it and cause the day's catch of fish to fall back into the ocean?"

"Hey! Who told you about that!"

As Zuko and Katara argued inside the room, Aang sat in his room, trying to piece together what he was going to say to Katara. He had a few general ideas; how Katara had stood by him despite all the hardships they had been through, how beautiful she was, how strong she was. But despite all his good intentions, Aang simply could not put anything together in a coherent form.

"Maybe if…. Yeah…. No, no, it's stupid." Aang muttered as ideas flew through his head. But again, there were only concepts with no linking idea. But finally, Aang got to his feet and said, "Forget it." He wasn't going to express his love in some pre-fabricated speech, with everything rehearsed and wooden. No, he was going to tell her how he felt and whatever came out, well that would be good enough. Confident, Aang left his room and began to walk over to the living room door.

"Come on, who?" Katara asked again.

"I was sworn to secrecy." Zuko replied.

"Was it Sokka? It was, wasn't it?"

"You mean your brother who won't talk to me?" Zuko asked.

"Oh right." Katara said. "Well, what about the Knights? It had to be one of them, so who?"

"There are so many of them, I can't remember." Zuko answered coyly.

"Try." Katara said.

"Sorry, I just can't. I think I'll go tell my uncle I'm all right now." Zuko said, as he got to his feet, confident he'd beaten Katara. But a second later, he felt something cold and wet wrap around his body and pull him back down on the couch.

"Hey what are you doing?" Zuko yelled, as he struggled against the 'water-rope.'

"Getting an answer." Katara said, as she walked up to Zuko, the water streaming out from her holder. "Now, who told you about the fish?"

Now, Zuko had truthfully heard that Katara had once, as a child, broken a full fishing net to get a shiny rock from a conversation between the girl and Iroh. He had not been intending to eavesdrop, but the idea that Katara had done something she was embarrassed about was something he'd been interested in hearing. He'd intended to use it as a joke similar to this down the road, but he hadn't intended to be tied up for it, and frankly, Zuko was a bit angry about it. And as Katara moved in to ask her question again, Zuko saw his chance for a little revenge.

As Katara moved in closer, Zuko brought his legs together. Once Katara was close enough, Zuko shot his legs out, knocking Katara off balance. Her concentration broken, Katara released her control on the water-rope, and it dissipated into the couch. But Zuko had not thought his plan all the way through, and though the rope had vanished, Katara was about to fall on top of him. He tried to bring up his arms to catch her, but he didn't move fast enough, and Katara slammed into his body. But what was more interesting was that, because of her position in relation to Zuko, and how Katara had moved as she fell, the two of them were suddenly forced into an unexpected kiss. As their eyes widened in shock at this unexpected embrace, the door behind them opened……

Aang opened the door, taking a deep breath as he prepared himself. As the door swung out he entered, announcing himself with, "Katara, I need to talk to you." But less then a second later, all of Aang's ideas and speeches flew out as he saw Katara and Zuko lying on the couch, lips pressed together. The fact that both of them appeared shocked, and that they almost instantly pulled apart meant nothing to Aang, who stood there, face frozen in shock and anger, body shaking. As Katara and Zuko turned to face him, they saw the emotion running through him. Almost instantly, the two of them realized what was wrong.

"Aang, it isn't…" Katara began, but it was too late. His face in a rage, Aang whirled around on his heel and ran from the room, from the house, as tears of rejection and anger streamed from his face.

"So, when can I receive my reward?" Jouku said, as he leaned over the table to speak with the Firebender. The innkeeper had made excellent time to the outpost; promising the Sandbender scavengers fresh meat was always plenty of incentive for them. And the rumors had been true; Jouku had found a Firebender quite quickly, and was working out the last of their deal in the bar.

Or so he thought, as the Firebender replied, "You will get your reward when the traitors are in my hands. Not until."

"You realize that will be more difficult." Jouku said. "You aren't exactly welcome in Ba Sing Se."

"But you are." The bender replied. "I happen to have a few…. Associates that are more then capable of capturing those two. When you return to Ba Sing Se, you will take a few barrels with you. The associates will be inside, and from there, you can leave it to them as long as you bring them to the traitors. Once they return with them, you will receive your reward."

"Perhaps. But how do I know you simply won't leave me holding the bag?" Jouku asked shrewdly. A second later, Jouku found himself face down on the table, with a burning sensation on his neck.

"Are you questioning my integrity?" the bender asked, as the flame moved closer.

"No! Of course not!" Jouku gasped. Slowly, the flame pulled back, as Jouku pulled himself up. "I don't care what you think about me." The bender said. "But don't say it to my face. But you have brought the traitors to me, and so I won't kill you. For now."

"I pity the traitors then." Jouku gasped, as he spat out the last of his fear. "They are truly in danger from you."

"Oh, you're right about that." Azula said, as she brushed back her long hair. "Zuzu has been in danger from me since the day I was born."


	13. The Fruits of Love

Chap. 13

The Fruits of Love

"Look, I saw him throwing a fireball at Aang. What was I supposed to do?" Sokka protested once again.

Sighing for the third time in twenty minutes, Oscuridad said, "Sokka, I understand that having Zuko with us now is difficult for you. But you are going to have to learn to accept this, or things like this are going to keep happening."

"Why? Frankly I think you guys are overreacting." Tierrra said. "He wanted to protect Aang. What's wrong with that?"

"Maybe Sokka is isn't the only one we should be talking to." Agua said, as the other Knights turned to face their brother.

"Aw come on guys, I'm not wrong here." Tierra said in protest. "Zuko _is _dangerous. Keeping him here is a risk to Aang."

"Finally, somebody else is sane around here." Sokka said.

"Yeah, but it isn't you two." Luz said. "Zuko may be dangerous, but right now, he is someone we have to trust. He can't go home, and Iroh won't train Aang without him. He's been trying to earn our trust for a week, but you two refuse to change your opinion of him. Instead, all you do is wait for the first opportunity to bring him down because you've already chiseled your opinion of him in stone. No pun intended, Tier."

"Look, the point is this." Desierto said, coming to the front. "Sokka, you are young and headstrong, so we can excuse you a bit. But you have to learn to trust others, and believe that people can change. And Tier, you've been through enough to know that even the most evil people can be redeemed. So, try to be adults here, or I swear, I will rip your throats out in the middle of the night."

Both Sokka and Tierra gulped at that. "Wait, what are you scared about?" Sokka asked, turning to Tierra. "You're immortal, you can't die."

"No, but he can feel all the pain of getting his guts torn out before they grow back." The wolf replied. "And he knows I'll do it if I have to, don't you?" he asked, with a glare at the dog. Tierra muttered a reply, but did it looking at the floor. Seeing that, Sokka nodded his head so fast that it looked like it would fly off.

"Well, thank you Des, for that pointed, if somewhat disturbing lecture." Fuego said, gingerly clapping his brother on the back.

"Don't feel too bad kid. All of Des's speeches end like that." Tierra said to Sokka.

"Has he ever gone through with his threats?" Sokka asked. At that, Tierra coughed and looked to the side. As Sokka paled, Bosque shook his head and said, "Well, at least that's over." Of course, the second he said that, Iroh and Toph walked into the room and the old general said, "Aang just stormed out of the house and ran for the marketplace. He looked quite upset."

"Bosque, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, _never _say anything is over because something else will happen!" Oscuirdad swore. Turning to the two Masters, the bat asked, "I don't suppose you two have any idea why he stormed out?"

Iroh shook his head, and Toph answered, "No, I haven't heard anything from him since training. Do you think something there upset him?"

"Frankly, if he can stand you yelling at him, I can't think of anything else that could've upset him." Sokka answered. Toph glared at the Water-Tribesman, but before she could give a retort, Katara and Zuko burst into the room and Katara asked, in a very urgent tone, "Did Aang come through here?

"Actually, Iroh said he just left." Hierro said. "Why are you looking for him?" But instead of answering, Katara put her hands over her face and said, "He must be so confused and angry; with Appa and everything else… oh God, what he's going to do?"

"Katara, did something happen between you three?" Iroh asked, noticing the girl's state. "If so, I think you need to tell us about it."

But Katara was too worried about Aang to say anything clearly, so Zuko answered his uncle. "We were talking in the back room, and well, there was an accident, and we fell onto each other. Then the Avatar walked in and saw us. He became very emotional and ran out."

"Um, that doesn't make any sense." Toph said. "Why would seeing you two fall onto each other make Aang angry?"

"You'll find out when you're older." Iroh replied.

"Well, it wasn't just that." Katara said, as she began to calm down enough to talk clearly. "When we fell, well, the way we fell, we kinda….." at this point, both Katara and Zuko began to blush, but Hierro was shrewd enough to figure out what they were trying to say. "Is falling _into_ each other a better term for what happened?" the spider asked.

Katara nodded, which produced sighs, gasps, and much shaking of the head. It also produced Sokka jumping to his feet and yelling, "Katara! You kissed a _Firebender_?"

"Sokka it was an accident." The young girl insisted. "We didn't mean for it to happen."

"Yeah well, it isn't going to happen again." Sokka said, as he grabbed Katara and pulled her away from Zuko. "You stay away from my sister from now on." Sokka swore at the former prince, who stood there with an expression halfway between bemused and angry.

"Sokka, stop it!" Katara yelled, as she pulled away from Sokka's grasp. "What happened with me and Zuko isn't important. We need to find Aang."

"But if you want to keep telling me to stay away from your sister, even though we're all in the same small inn and will be traveling together for a long time, be my guest." Zuko said.

Sokka frowned at that, but before he could say anything, Iroh said, "Katara is right. We must focus on finding Aang. If he is truly as upset as we believe, there is no telling what he may do if provoked. I propose we split up, and search the market, since he headed in that direction."

"Good idea." Oscuridad agreed. "Aang probably wants to look for Appa to take his mind off what happened. We'll split up once we get to the marketplace, but I think some people should stay here, in case he comes back."

"I'll stay." Aire said.

"Me too." Toph said. "That place smells like rotten flowers and animal manure."

"All right. Call us the second he walks through the door." Oscuirad said. "In the meantime, let's go. Maybe we can find him before he gets there."

With that, the group headed out the door for the marketplace. "I swear, this never ends." Agua muttered as they walked the streets. "The second one problem gets solved, we get another one."

"At least this one isn't your fault." Katara said sadly, as she came up next to the cat. "Aang's in this because of me."

"What? Katara, you know that's not true." Agua said. "What happened with you and Zuko was an accident."

"I know, but…… it's just that, I heard him after the training. When I was helping Zuko, I heard ask him if he was ok. I looked over, and saw he was staring at me from the corner of my eye. Then he muttered he was fine and walked off. I think he was mad at me for not helping him first."

"Katara, Aang was in good hands, and you did go to him first." Agua said gently. "I think Aang was just surprised at what he saw. Maybe he was scared that if you and Zuko were together, you'd spend less time with him, and after Appa, that scares him more then anything. You are his best friend, after all."

Katara gave a reply, but it wasn't important. The discussion was already being heard by Fuego and Luz, who listened grimly. As the two Water Masters spoke, the fox and red man looked at each other and nodded. Slowly, they began to fall behind in the procession, until they had fallen back to where Zuko was.

"Can we talk a minute?" Luz asked, once they were close enough to the former prince.

"About what?" Zuko asked.

"Something that needs privacy." Fuego answered, as he gestured to the very back of the procession. Zuko was confused, but nodded, and the three of them slowed their speed, until they had fallen a good few feet behind the end of the procession.

"What is this about?" Zuko asked once they were out of earshot.

"It's about what happened with you and Katara." Fuego answered.

"For the last time, it was an _accident_!" Zuko said in exasperation. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"And if it happened again?" Luz asked.

"What?"

"Would you ever mean for it to happen again?" Luz explained.

"What on earth are you two getting at?" Zuko asked.

"We know why Aang is so upset." Fuego said. "He has a crush on Katara. He's had it ever since they met, but he still hasn't told her, or anyone else; the other Knights don't know either."

"Then how do you two know about it?" Zuko asked.

"I know how to read the signs, and there have been a few." Fuego answered.

"And I'm the Knight of Light. I can see into people's souls too, but unlike my husband, I can see their hopes and dreams." Luz answered. "I don't pry, but this hope was so strong from Aang I couldn't help it."

Zuko was quiet then, as he absorbed the information. This certainly explained why the Avatar was so upset; someone kissing his beloved would be anathema to him. But that didn't explain the Knights' questions to him. Why would they wonder if he would mean for the accident to happen again…. Suddenly, the answer popped into Zuko's head and he cursed himself for being a fool. Of course, Zuko hadn't had much experience with women; his interest had started about the time he'd been banished, and from then on, he'd ignored it in favor of tracking. But missing something this obvious….

"You're worried that I might be attracted to Katara after what happened." He said. As the Knights nodded, Zuko said, "I don't think that'll happen. It wasn't really that plesant for either of us."

"Really?" Fuego asked.

"I felt her stiffen and started to pull away as soon as it happened. And frankly, I can't explain it, but it felt like….. I don't know, like I was kissing my sister or something."

"I wouldn't broadcast that, but I guess I'm glad to hear it." Luz said. "There would just be so many problems involved with you three if that happened."

Zuko nodded, and at that moment, they heard Oscuirdad say, "We're here." The progression came to a halt, right in front of the bustling marketplace. Turning to face the others, the bat said, "OK, we'll split up into seven groups of two so we cover as much ground as possible." With that, he began to assign groups, pairing up each of the humans with an Elemental, to allow for unbroken communication. In fact, Zuko was the first pick, chosen to work with the bat himself. As the former prince walked over, Fuego whispered to Luz, "Did he tell the truth?"

"Yes." The fox whispered back. "He doesn't hope for Katara, except as a possible friend. And she feels the same way about him."

"Good. I can't see them together myself, but love is a funny thing."


	14. Jealousy of the Avatar Part 1

Hey everybody. I'm sorry this took so long to put up, but I just spent the weekend driving to Boston and back moving my sister into college. But I'm back now, and ready to write. Enjoy

Chap. 14

Jealousy of the Avatar Part 1

Aang stumbled through the streets of the market, his mind barely registering what he was doing. His eyes darted from left to right with an empty gaze, searching for something that existed only in his mind. Occasionally, he would remember what he was supposed to be doing, and call out for Appa, or blow the bison whistle. In those brief moments, Aang resembled himself But for the most part, the boy that made his way through the market did not look like the Avatar, or a young Airbender. He looked like a broken, empty, old man, looking at the world through tear filled eyes.

And as Aang saw it, there had been much to break him. He was the last of his people, alone in the world as no other person could be. Appa, the last real friend he had from that time, was gone, and he had no chance of ever finding him, despite what lies others might say to him. And now Katara, the girl that he had loved from the minute he had first seen her, was lost, to his greatest enemy….

_How could she do this to me? _Aang's troubled mind whirled once again. _I loved her, I protected her, I would've spent my life with her. And she chooses him?_ The voice of Gyatso had vanished from the boy's mind, taking all reason and retraint with it. Aang forgot the pity he had felt for Zuko, forgot the kindness that had made him save the boy prince before. All that was left was the pained, lovelorn emotions that swirled and twisted the fragments of Aang's pschye.

"Thanks anyway." Ocuridad said, as he left the small shop. As the door clicked shut behind him, the bat turned and saw Zuko leaving a nearby store. "Any luck?" Oscuriad asked.

"Not a thing." Zuko said. "No one here has seen anyone matching the Avatar's description. You don't think that he's left the city?" Indeed, it was a grim possiblity that both of them feared. Zuko feared it because he knew that the situation was partly his fault, and that without the Avatar's help, millions would die. Oscuridad feared those deaths as well, but the bat knew that fear of the unknown would lead them nowhere, so he stomached it as best he could and answered Zuko's question.

"Where would he go? Besides, as long as Appa is here, Aang will never leave this place." Oscuriad replied. "But this is starting to get pointless. I don't know where else to look, and we don't have time to search the whole market."

"I wonder if the others are having better luck." Zuko wondered aloud.

"No, they would've signaled us." Oscuirdad replied.

Zuko nodded his acceptance, but loudly snorted in frustration. "I can't believe things can go so badly so fast!" the former prince snapped, as he and the bat began to walk towards the next set of shops. "How can we find the Avatar in the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom! It's impossible!"

"Calm down Zuko." The bat said. "I'm frustrated too, but yelling about it won't make a difference. If we want to find Aang, we need to curb our tempers and think."

At that, Zuko visibly calmed himself, then nodded. The time he had spent with the group had dulled Zuko's pride, but his impatience and temper were as strong as ever. His frustrations at both causing Aang's disapearance and being unable to fix it were weighing quite heavily on him, and Zuko found himself straining to keep control. Still, Oscuridad was glad to know that Zuko was stuggling over wanting to correct his mistake; it showed some growth on the part of the prince.

"Don't worry about it." The bat reassured his companion. "Aang's around here somewhere, and we'll find him."

"Besides," he added, as they walked along the streets. "how hard can it be to find a twelve year-old with arrow tattoos all over his body?"

"Arrows, you say?" a broken voice creaked out from behind a nearby alleyway. Pausing, Zuko and Oscuridad turned towards the alley. For a moment, they looked at each other in hesitation, then the voice said, "Come on, I ain't got all day!" The two of them nodded then, and they entered the alleyway.

"'Bout time. I thought you two had been beaten by the stupid stick and didn't know what to do when somebody speaks to ya." Said the owner of the voice.

"And what would that be?" Zuko asked, as he looked over the man who sat in the alley. The man was an obvious destitute, dressed in filthy ragged clothes that blended in with his filthy brown skin. He looked at the two of them with a look of promise and greed in his eyes, and an all too distressing smile on his sore covered lips.

"For one thing, hello and salutations!" the man spat out.

"Hello and salutations then." Oscuridad said, as he bowed to the destitute. As the bat stood back up, he gave Zuko a nudge. The former prince grimaced, but bowed to the man.

"Now that's better. We can be nice and sociable now." The destitute said with obvious glee. "Now you boys are looking for a kid with arrow tattoos, are ya?"

"Have you seen him?" Oscuridad asked.

"Of course I have! Do you think I would have called you over here if I hadn't?" the man snapped. "I saw him about half an hour ago. He was stumbling around, calling for someone, papa or something like that."

"That's him. Where was he headed?" Zuko asked urgently. But the man simply smiled and said, "Well, here's where we have a little work to do. See, I have something you want, but you don't just get what you want without a little sacrifice."

"And what do you mean by that?" Zuko asked, slight anger creeping into his tone.

"About twenty gold pieces, that's what I mean." The man said, crossing his arms over his chest. "That is, if you want to find this kid."

"Why you arrogant little.." Zuko growled, advancing on the man. But Oscuridad quickly sidestepped the prince.

"Zuko, calm down." He urged.

"What are you talking about? Can't you see this little germ is trying to exploit us?" Zuko answered back. "He just wants the money to waste on whatever garbage keeps him alive. And from the smell, it's some kind of liquor. He probably didn't even see the Avatar."

"I know that, but if he does know something about Aang, we have to investigate." The bat insisted. "And that means swallowing your anger and doing what we need to help Aang."

"But we don't even have any money! Hierro didn't make anymore for us before we left!" Zuko said.

"I know, but we might have another option. Just let me work something here." The bat responded.

Moving over to the man, he said, "Listen we don't have any money…."

"Then I guess you boys are out of luck." The man said as he began to get up.

"Actually, I think I have something else that might interest you." Oscuridad said, as he reached into the folds of his cloak. Zuko rolled his eyes, unable to believe that they were even trying to humor this leech. But the former prince watched all the same, curious as to what the bat had to tempt the destitute. And a second later, Oscuridad pulled his hand out to reveal….. absoultely nothing.

Zuko's eyes widend, as he wondered what kind of insane plan that Oscuriad could have up his sleeve. But the destitute's eyes widened in surprise and greed. "Gimme!" he cried out, as he grabbed for the bat's hand. But Oscuridad pulled his hand away.

"Tell us what we want, then you can have it." The bat said, as he shook his hand, which Zuko now saw was curled as if he was holding something. The destitute grumbled, but said, "He was heading into the Western side of the marketplace. But I don't know if he's still there."

"Fine." Oscuridad said, as he flicked his hand forward and released his grip. The destitute cried out and grabbed upwards trying to catch the invisible object. He seemed to succeed, because a second later he grinned and cradled something to his breast.

"Let's go." The bat said to Zuko, as he turned for the open market. Zuko followed, but his face was quuite confused. "What did you just do?" he asked.

"I'll tell when we're out of range." Oscuridad replied. "In about five minutes, that guy's gonna realize that he isn't holding a bottle of Earth Nation wine, and he will be quite pissed."

Zuko was even more confused at that, but kept quiet until they were about ten shops away from the alleyway. Seeing the distance, Zuok turned to Oscuirdad and asked, "Will you tell me now?"

"I thought he was a liqour man the second I smelled him." The bat explained as they walked. "And once he asked for money, I knew just how to exploit him. So I created a shadow in his mind of a bottle of Earth Kingdom wine, and used it to bribe him."

"You can do that?" Zuko asked in astonishment.

"Of course. Illusion is one of the essiental parts of shadow; I could've made him see anything. The only problem is that it doesn't last, and as I said, he'll be quite angry once I'm out of range and the effect wears off."

Zuko was silent for a moment, and then said, "You know, I probably would've just set him on fire."

"Not a horrible idea, but still morally wrong." The bat replied kindly. "You just need a bit more control with your temper Zuko; then you would've figured something out. Now come on, we've got an Avatar to find…again." Zuko nodded, and they two of them headed for the western market.

Aang collapsed against the wall, his body drained and his mind wiped. He had no idea how long he'd been walking, if it had been hours, or if the turmoil in his mind had made it seem longer. It didn't really matter to him anymore though. Appa was nowhere to be found. The merchant had probalbly traded him by now. Aang would never see him again, and now, he was truly alone in the world.

_I can't go back._ He thought suddenly. For a moment, Aang was shocked, but it faded quickly. It was true; he couldn't go back to his home, or the others? And really, why should he? To lie down among the bones of his people? To see Zuko and Katara care for each other? To see him touch her with the gentle caress of a lover? To see them smile at each other in secret, with the smiles that only those in love can have? No, he would never do that; he would die first. From now on, he would travel alone. He would do his duty as the Avatar, but after that, he didn't care. All he had left was his duty, and he was going to complete it alone.

Slowly, Aang picked himself up off the wall. He was going to leave this city, where so much had been taken from him. He would find a Firebending teacher, and then he would find the Firelord. And he might have very well done these things, had not a high-pitched voice called out, "Hey you brats, get away from my animals!" Aang turned his head towards the stand the voice had come from. Actually, it was less of a stand then a space on the ground where several rugs were spread and cages, filled with all variety of animals, had been placed on top of them. Two young children dodged in and out of the maze of cages as they escaped into the crowd. "And don't come back!" the merchant yelled, as he came into the Avatar's view. The merchant grunted at the children, and walked away.

But Aang continued to stare. The merchant was quite tall, and dressed in expenisve looking blue robes. Those robes were decorated with the images of crashing waves and the moon's lunar phases- the symbols of the Water Tribe. Aang sniffed the air; the smell of fish was coming heavily from the merchant's stand. And then, Aang saw a pile of puches near one of the cages, and he knew all he needed to know. "Hakin." The Avatar whispered as he moved towards the stand.

Hakin checked the last cage that the cildren had tinkered with, and then, he heard the sound of footsteps. "Ahh, business!" he said gleefully. Turning to face his customer, he said, "Welcome friend. I am Hakin, purveyor of exotic animals. How can I help…"

But before he could finish his speech, Hakin felt a hand grab his collar and drag him down, where he stared into the face of an angry twelve year old boy. "Where's Appa?" the boy asked with barely restrained anger.

"I… Don't know what that is." The merchant gasped. Normally, if someone had grabbed him like this, Hakin would have beaten them off, but something about this boy filled him with fear. There was great power behind this boy's anger, and Hakin knew that angering him further would result in his death.

"My bison! You got him from the Sandbenders! What did you do with him!" the boy screamed at the merchant. Frantically, the merchant scanned his mind, trying to remember what he done with that animal. "I-I don't have him anymore…" Hakin said. The boy's eyes narrowed futher, and suddenly Hakin himself being pushed back by a strong current of air. He hit the back wall with a thud and slid down. As Hakin looked up at the angry boy as he came to a halt, he saw that others had heard the commotion and were now looking over with fear and concern. For a minute, Hakin thought they would help him, but then he saw how deep the fear ran in their eyes and he knew he was on his own.

"Who did you trade him to?" the boy cried out, as he drew a long staff from his back and pointed it at the merchant. Trembling, Hakin answered, "There were some F-Fire Nation s-soliders, who s-said that they were interested in him. I'm an open trader with a-anyone, s-so I arranged it. They p-picked him up outside the city two nights ago. H-He's probably on his way to the Fire Nation right now."

Hearing this, the boy's face cracked. His staff dropped from his hands, and he drew his shaking fists to his face. Slowly, Haking rose, thinking that perhaps he could escape this madness now. But it was not to be. A second later, the boy trembled and threw his hands away from his face, revealing a glowing tattoo and a glowing pair of eyes. As Hakin and the others in the market stared, the winds around them began to pick, and spin faster and faster. Carts and stands began to break apart under the stresses of the wind. And still they increased. People began to scream and run, as the winds began to destroy everything around them. Hakin stared a moment, at all the damage a single sale had wrought, and then he ran too.

Close to a mile away, Zuko and Oscuridad walked the streets. Suddenly, they stopped and looked forward, as a huge funnel of dirt and wind began to rise form the distant market. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then they began to run.


	15. Jealousy of the Avatar Part 2

Chap. 15

Jealousy of the Avatar Part 2

The winds whipped around the marketplace with the force of a full-fledged hurricane. People screamed in terror as carts and stands flew against the buildings, shattering with devasting force. They cowered behind whatever shelter they could find by the walls of the buildings, and tried to avoid the debris. Hakin's cages flew as well, splintering against the wall and freeing the animals inside. The animals however, quickly ran from the scene, having enough sense to know that staying was insanity.

It was this madness that hit Zuko and Oscuridad as they approached the scene. Almost instantly, the winds blasted them hard, pushing them back like a battering ram. But they gritted their teeth and pressed forth, each step feeling like a step through quicksand. More then once, they stumbled, but managed to get back up their feet without losing too much ground. Finally, when they reached the center of the area, Oscuridad drew his sword, and with all the strength he could muster, drove it into the ground. Grabbing Zuko's hand, he brought the boy over to the makeshift anchor and both of them gripped it with all the strength they had.

"How do we turn him off?" Zuko yelled over the winds, as he motioned to the figure of Aang, who hovered before them in an air vortex, his back to them.

"I don't know!" Oscuridad yelled back. "We need some way to calm him down, and I don't think he'll listen to either of us right now! But I think I have an idea! Put your hand of the stone in the sword's pommel. Concentrate on Agua and it will do the do the rest."

Zuko nodded, and he slowly pulled his hand away from the hilt and moved down to the stone in the pommel. Pressing against it, the boy concetrated on the image of Agua, as the stone began to glow under his fingers…..

"Agua, look!" Katara said, pointing to the trident on the cat's back. Agua turned his head to see that the stone in it's center was glowing.

"Looks like somebody found something." He said, as he pulled the weapon out and held the weapon out in front of them. Slowly, he waved his hand over it, activating the link between himself and whichever Knight was contacting him. "Hello? Who's there?" the cat said into the stone. But his only response was the hiss of angry winds and crashes.

"What's going on over there?" Katara asked with fear in her voice.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Agua answered, the same fear in his own voice. Regadless, the cat tried again. "Whoever's there, say something!"

This time, there was a response, as Oscuridad's voice came through the stone. "Agua, we need help!"

"What's going on, bro?" the Water Knight asked in reply.

"Aang's gone into the Avatar State! He's made a whirlwind and he's destroying everything around us! You have to get Katara here so she can calm him down!"

"But I don't know if that'll work." Katara said back. "Aang is angry at me remember?"

"It's the best shot we have! I don't want to attack him when he's like this; it'll just cause more damage or we might hurt him! So just get here; we're on the western side of the market. You won't be able to miss it; there's a damn tornado over it!"

"We're on our way, just hold on." Agua said, as he broke off communication. Turning to Katara, he asked, "You ready?"

"But I don't know if Aang is going to listen to me." Katara protested. "He was so hurt before…… I just don't know."

"We have to try Katara. The only other chance is to fight him, and I know you don't want to see that happen." Agua argued. "You have to at least try, for his sake and everyone else's."

Katara was quiet a moment, then nodded. "All right, I'll try. I don't want to see him get hurt."

"Good. Now let's get moving." The cat said, as he reattached the trident to his back. The two of them turned in the direction of the western market and began running.

"They're on their way!" Oscuridad yelled, as the stone in his sword went dark.

"Great, but what are we supposed to do?" Zuko yelled back, as the two of them struggled to hold onto the sword. "We can't do anything to help him ourselves!"

"Then we have to do the next best thing; make sure Aang doesn't hurt anyone!" Oscuridad said. "We need to get the people here to safety!"

Zuko nodded at that, and strained his eyes to see some shelter they could use through the winds. Finally, the young Firebender saw a large building on the right side with an open door that the winds seemed to be streaming past instead striking.

"Over there!" he yelled over to Oscuridad. The bat saw the spot, and nodded his approval. "We've got to do this carefully. I'll take the right, you take the left. Be careful!" he yelled back. Zuko nodded, and prepared to move, readying his body like a sprinter about to make a dash, though he kept one hand on the hilt of the sword. Oscuridad took the same pose, and began to count down. "Three, two,…. ONE!"

With that, the two of them both released their grip on the sword and dashed for the opposite walls. Zuko hit first, and began inching his way forward, trying to reach the people trapped behind the wreckage of the carts and stands of the marketplace. The people turned at the sound of Zuko's grunts as he strained against the winds and debris, and quickly moved to help him. Once he was in range, they reached out and pulled him into their ranks.

Once there, Zuko immdiately took charge. "Listen, I know a way to get you all to safety. But you have to trust me." Zuko expected to have a few people protest and demand another way; his experience in Lee's village had made him somewhat disillusioned about the trust of strangers. But the people immdiately nodded and one of the men asked, "What did you have planned?"

Surprised, Zuko answered, "There's an open building on the other side of the street. If we hurry, we can get into it."

"How, by walking across?" another man spat out. "We'll be torn to shreds!"

"And what have you come up with, Kinyo?" a young woman asked the man angrily. "We can't stay here; the wreckage isn't going to last much longer under the winds. If this stranger can get us to safety, I say we let him try."

Kinyo gave the woman an angry look, but kept silent. Seeing that, Zuko said, "I'll go out first, the women and children second. Once you're out, move as fast as you can to the doorway. A friend is helping people on the other side, so he should be able to help you find it." The people listened intently to Zuko's plan, making sure they knew what he needed them to do. Once he finished, Zuko motioned for the women and children to come forward. Once they were ready, the former prince looked out into the winds, to see if it was 'safe' for them to move. The winds were still moving swiftly, but the debris seemed to have lessened. Plus, he saw Oscuridad began to move his own people out, so Zuko felt that it was safe, and he motioned for the people to start moving out.

The former prince quickly moved out to the sword and grabbing it, stood steadfast as the women and children satrted moving across the street to the open building. The first six or seven got across with no problem, but then things got difficult. As a young woman and her daughter started to move across, the girl suddenly let out a yell and pointed to something in front of her. The mother and Zuko turned to see one of the large animal cages coming flying towards them.

The mother cried out in fear, but Zuko kept calm. Letting go of the sword, he leapt forward and pushed them to the ground. But in the struggle, the mother lost her grip on her daughter and the child was caught in the winds. Zuko tried to reach up and grab her, but she moved too fast him to catch and she flew backwards right into the path of the cage. The two of them crashed onto the ground, the cage crunching and rattling forward before it was finally stopped by a large pile of wreckage.

"NOOO!" the mother creamed as she ran for the cage. "Keep moving!" Zuko yelled to the others, as he followed the mother. The two of them reached the wreckage of the cage quickly, and quickly checked for the girl. Thankfully, they found inside the wreckage of the cage, brusied, but alive.

"Where's the door?" the mother asked frantically, as she looked over the cage.

"Over here!" Zuko answered, as he noticed a twisted lock nearby. Grabbing it, he tried to pull it open, but the door had been damaged in the fall, and was now twisted shut.

"I can't open it. Is there any way she can crawl out of?" Zuko asked. "No, there's nothing big enough." The woman replied.

Hearing that, Zuko looked over at the girl again, as she whimpered inside the cage. He saw the expression of fear and love of her mother's face. For a second, Zuko thought of Ursa, and then he knew what he had to do. He would likely be feared and hated afterwards, despite the goodwill behind it. But he had no choice. "Both of you, move away from the bars." He said. Both mother and daughter did so immdiately.

Zuko came forward and placed his hands around two of the bars. As the mother wacthed, Zuko concentrated on the energy inside him. Slowly, his hands began to glow, as the fire melted away the iron bars. Within a minute, the two bars had melted enough to allow the girl to crawl out. And once Zuko pulled his hands away, she did so immdiately, going straight for her mother. The two embraced, though the mother looked at Zuko with an expression of apprehension.

But the former prince ignored it, and said, "Come on, we have to get inside." The mother nodding hesitatingly, and the three of them pushed their way threw the winds into the building, as the last of them managed to get in. Once the last person was inside, Oscuridad shut the door and deadlocked it. "Is that everybody?" the bat asked, as he looked over crowd.

"I think so." One of the men said, as he moved to embrace the woman that Zuko had brought in. "Thank you both." He said, with much gratitude.

"Not a problem." Oscuridad replied, while Zuko nodded his reply. As the small family reunited, the bat whispered, "Zuko, I saw what happened. How did you get the girl out of the cage?"

"I melted the bars." The Firebender replied.

"Did they see you?"

"Yes. There wasn't anything I could do about it."

"It may be better for us to get back out there now, just the same."

Zuko nodded, and the two of them began to make their way towards the door. But before they reached, they heard a voice cry out, "Wait!" Turning, they saw the mother Zuko had helped standing behind them.

"You're not going back out there, are you?" she asked.

"We think we know how to stop this. We have to try." Oscuridad answered.

"How?" she asked.

"It's complicated. But we'll be ok." The bat reassured her. The woman was quiet a moment, then looked over at Zuko. The former prince expected a replay of Lee's village, but instead, she said, "Thank you. I didn't think that… people could be like that."

Visibly surprised, Zuko needed a minute to compose himself, but replied, "I'm glad I could prove you wrong." With that, he and Oscuridad turned and left the building.

The winds outside were as strong as ever. The two of them had to immdiately shiled their eyes against the punishing blows, and slowly inched their way back to the anchor of the sword. Grabbing onto it, they managed to open their eyes long enough to look up at the still hovering form of Aang.

"Why doesn't he stop!" Zuko yelled over the roar of the winds.

"I don't know! He's never been this angry before!" Oscuridad yelled. "I can feel it rolling off him in waves! We need Katara here or he's gonna wreck the whole market!"

"I think your prayers just got answered then!" Zuko said, as he pointed to something in the winds. Squinting, Oscuridad manged to make out the hint of blue clothing, and a long blue cape flapping in the winds. Smiling under his mask, he cried out, "Guys, over here!" The blue forms paused, changed direction, and slowly inched their way to the sword. Once they were close enough, Agua drew out his trident and drove it into the ground, creating a second anchor for Katara and himself.

"How long has he been going!" Katara yelled over the winds.

"Almost twenty minutes! You've got to get in there and calm him down!" Zuko cried out.

"Do you think you can make it?" Agua yelled to the girl.

"I'll have to try." Katara answered. Slowly, she released her grip on the trident, and began to inch her way to Aang, just like she had done at the Southern Air Temple. She moved with almost painful care, making each step as quick as she could for fear of being blown away or struck by debris. But more then once, she seemed to lose her footing or was struck by something, as the others watched in suspense and fear. But each time, she managed to right herself and press on, until she was finally able to reach the hovering form of Aang.

As he floated there, ignorant of the world around him, Katara reached up and grabbed his arm, as she had in the desert. And just like in the desert, Aang turned to face her. For a minute, both Katara and the others thought that the worst was over, as she started to pull him down.

But they were wrong. As Katara pulled on Aang's arm, he didn't give way. Surprised, Katara looked up to see his face, ripe with anger. She gasped in shock, sering the gentle features of her friend twisted by such rage. She released her grip, and before she could even move away, Aang drew up his arm, and then, shocking everyone, fired off the air at Katara, shooting her through the air. She landed next to the others, and as she pulled herself up, she gazed up at Aang with a shocked expression, that Zuko, Oscuridad, and Agua all shared.


	16. Jealousy of the Avatar Part 3

Chap. 16

Jealousy of the Avatar Part 3

"Oh, look at this!" Iroh said, as he examined another curio from the stand.

"Um, that's cool Iroh, but we have to get back searching." Fuego said, as he gently pushed the curio back onto the stand. The two of them had been looking around te market for close to an hour looking for any sign of Aang. But they'd been delayed by Iroh's inability to curb his buyer's nature.

"I know Fuego, but there is no reason we cannot get a good deal at the same time." Iroh replied, as he continued to look over the stand.

The red man shook his head and muttered, "Christ, how can anyone be this annoying? I'd never be like this." Sighing, he turned back to Iroh and said, "Listen, we have to keep moving. Aang's location is not going to fall out of the sky."

But as Fuego said that, a man ran up the market screaming, "RUN! IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S HOLY RUN!"

Both Iroh and Fuego whipped around at that, and the former general quickly reached and pulled the man over to them as he ran past them.

"Calm down man." He said, as the man struggled in his grasp. "If you tell us what's going on, we might be able to help."

"No, you can't! It's a hurricane! It'll destroy everything!"

"Where is it?" Fuego asked urgently.

"The western market! Let me go I have to get away!" the man screamed as he escaped Iroh's grasp and continued to run off screaming.

"Well, I guess I was wrong." The red man said, as he watched the man run off. "Come on, let's get going."

"Indeed." Iroh agreed. "As soon as I get this."

"Oh for God's sake…"

"I'm kidding, let's go."

"So what the hell do we do now?" Agua yelled as he grabbed Katara and led her back to the anchor of his trident.

"I can't believe it." Katara said as she grasped the tridnet without thinking. "I didn't think… he's always so…..he's never been that angry."

"No he hasn't, but it doesn't matter." Oscuridad yelled. "If we want to stop him now, we have to take him down!"

"What! NO! We can't hurt him!" Katara yelled back.

"What other option do we have!" Agua cried out. "He's completely out of control and even you can't calm him down!"

"Right, but what do we do!" Zuko yelled out suddenly. "We need to think of some way to attack without actually hurting him!"

"Like what?" Agua yelled. Zuko was stumped for a moment, but then his eyes widened as a new problem arose. A huge wooden stand, ripped off the wall by the force of the winds, was heading towards them. Worse still, with the winds going towards them, none of them had any attacks that could break from the wind's current.

"Oh SHIT!" Oscuirdad yelled as he and the others braced themselves for the impact. But before the stand hit, there was a crack of thunder, as a bolt of lightning shot through the air and shattered the stand. As the splinters flew harmlessly around them, the group turned and saw Iroh and Fuego, using Fuego's spear as an anchor.

"What happened?" the red man yelled.

"He's gone crazy! Even Katara can't calm him down!" Agua said.

"We've got to fight him!" Oscuirdad said.

"Why! Can't we just knock him out or something!" Iroh yelled.

Zuko's eyes widened at that, but Oscuridad said, "With what! We can't use our powers with the winds, and Katara will never let you shoot lightning at him!"

"What about Zuko!" Fuego asked suddenly.

"What about him?" Oscuridad replied, as he turned to face the young Firebender.

But Zuko was gone. Shocked, the bat whipped his head around to see the former prince slowly making his way to the floating form of Aang.

"Zuko, get back here!" the bat yelled out. "You can't fight him!"

But Iroh yelled back, "Let him try! Zuko is no fool; he must have some kind of plan! Besides, there isn't much we can do ourselves. "

Oscuridad snarled at that, but he knew that Iroh was right. If Zuko had an idea, then the only option at this point was to try it before Aang was totally lost to the Avatar State. His face uncertain, Oscuridad turned and watched Zuko inch his way towards Aang.

Zuko meanwhile, continued to move forward as he ran over his plan. What the Firebender was planning was a dangerous move, and one that he might not even pull off. But Zuko knew that if he could do it, it would stop Aang easily. He knew, because he had once been on the receiving end of it. Before he had been banished, Zuko had watched as his sister had begun her training in lightning. While he had been jealous that Azula could reach this stage so quickly, Zuko had tried to hide it from her. But Azula was dammingly perceptive, and quickly began to mock him. After a few day of her constant taunts, Zuko had finally fired back, telling her to shut up or he would burn everything in her room. She'd become quiet then, and Zuko had turned to leave, thinking the argument over. But then there had been a crackle in the air, and before Zuko could move he had been hit by a small but still powerful bolt of lightning. It had hit him in the nerve cluster right on his neck. There had been blinding pain, and Zuko had been unconcious for six hours. However, he had suffered no injuries when he awoke, only a slight numbness that faded quickly. Zuko had always remembered that, and now, as he moved to stand behind the Avatar, he was glad he had.

As the winds twisted around him, Zuko finally reached his destination. Moving carefully, so as not to lose his footing, Zuko began to move his body into the lightning stance. From behind him, Iroh saw what his nephew was doing. Part of him told said to stop Zuko, before he harmed himself. But another part wondered if perhaps Zuko could do it, now that he freed himself from his pride and learned of true humilty. It was this part that won out, and gave no answer when Agua called out, "What in the hell is he doing?"

Zuko began to feel the energy move around as he brought his body through the stance. He had to be careful now; before, he had felt the energy seperate just before it had exploded on him. He had to keep them in imbalance until he could ready himself. Part of him was still fearful that his idea would fail, but he buried those feelings of aniexty. Zuko knew this would work, not because he was a great Firebender, but because of what he felt. In the week that he had spent with the Avatar, Zuko had felt more at peace then he had in three years of banishment. He saw the nobility and honor in this group that was so lacking from the rest of his family, his homeland. He had been regretting his attacks on them ever since, and now he had a chance to make up for it. It was this feeling that guided him, as he began to move his arms in the final position of the stance.

As Iroh watched from the side, Zuko felt the energy begin to leave his body. As he contiued to move, he emptied his mind of everything but guiding the lighting. The air began to charge around him, as the lightning began to race down his arm. Zuko kept his mind open, and then when the lightning was charged, he point upwards and released it. The lightning streaked towards the form of Aang, striking him right in the back of his neck. While Zuko's lightning had not been as straight or powerful as what his sister and uncle had created, it did it's job. Aang screamed in pain, as the lightning raced through the nerves on his neck. The winds began to die down, as he slowly lost consicousness. Finally, Aang's eyes and tattoos stopped glowing, and he fell to the ground. But Zuko, moving quickly, managed to leap under the boy and break his fall.

"Aang!" Katara yelled out, as she and the others ran towards him. As the last of the winds died, Zuko gingerly sat back up, and turned the unconcious Avatar over to Katara. The Wtaerbender took the boy quickly and then yelled at Zuko, "What did you do to him?"  
"Oh, I don't know, stop him from ripping this place to shreds!" Zuko snapped back.

"You shot lightning at him! You could've killed him! And when did you learn to do that anyway?"  
"Just now I think." Iroh said, as he bent down to look at Aang. Gently, he turned the boy over to look at the back of his neck. Just as he'd suspected, there was a small burn mark there.

"You remembered Azula's trick, didn't you?" Iroh asked Zuko with a grin.

Zuko nodded, which prompted Fuego to ask, "I'm guessing Azula did something like that to you?"

"It is an old technique, but a good one." Iroh explained. "It involves guiding the lightning into the nerve cluster on the back of the neck. It hurts tremoundously and always makes the person pass out. But there are no other side effects. It is a very effective knock out blow."

"So Aang will be ok?" Katara asked, still holding the boy's body.

"If it's like what she did to me, he'll be asleep for about six hours." Zuko answered. "But he should be fine after that, save for some temproary numbness."

"All right." Oscuridad said. "But there is still one thing I want to know. If you couldn't do lightning before, how did you know it would work correctly now?"

"Frankly, I didn't." Zuko replied. At that, everyone looked each other for a moment, then Oscuridad said, "Zuko, you did a good job today, and we're thankful for it. But please, never do anything like that again."

"I promise." Zuko said.

"Good. Then, let's go home before something else happens." Fuego said, as he got to his feet. The others followed, as Oscuridad took Aang from Katara and slung the boy over his shoulder. As they moved forward, Katara moved next to Zuko and said, "I'm sorry I blamed you. I should've known you wouldn't hurt Aang like that."

"It's ok. He's important to you." Zuko said. "I'd feel the same way."

But at that, Katara pulled back a little and said, "What do you mean he's important to me?"

"I just meant that he's a good friend, that's all." Zuko said in surprise. "What's with you?"

"Uh, nothing, sorry." Katara said. "I-I thought you meant something else. Come on, they're getting ahead of us." As Katara ran forawd to catch up with the others, Zuko looked at her with a puzzled look on his face, then began to wonder if she wasn't as oblivous as Fuego and Luz believed.

"Anything yet?" Toph asked

"You mean in the ten minutes since you last asked me? No." Aire muttered, as he looked over at his staff.

The two of them had been sitting in the inn for close to an hour and a half, waiting for some kind of word from the others. While both of them were still glad to have escaped the market (Aire thought it smelled as horrible as Toph did) they both wished that something would actually happen while they waited here. But Aire wished for it a little more; Toph had almost no patience and few other interests then Earthbending, and sadly, none of those other interests were of any interest to the falcon.

"This waiting is stupid, I'm going back outside." Toph said suddenly, getting to her feet.

"Could you please not make it sound like the earth is coming apart then?" Aire asked, knowing she just wanted to Earthbend.

"Then what am I supposed to do; hold a bunch of rocks in the air?" Toph snapped back.

"That would be great. Then I could read my book in peace." Aire said, holding up a manuscript he had taken from the library in the desert.

"Oh big deal. What's so much better about a book then Earthbending?" Toph sneered.

Aire started to say something but then realized that there was no reply to that, and simplt muttered, "God, what I wouldn't give for a Braille book right now.

"What are you babbling about?" Toph asked in confusion.

"Something from my world. It's not important." Aire said. He would've said more, but then he noticed his staff beginning to glow.

"I think we've got something." He siad, as he grabbed the weapon. Activating the stone, he said, "Joe's Creamatorium, you kill 'em, we grill 'em."

"You are a sick man, little brother." Oscuridad's voice said as it eminated from the stone.

"Duh. What's up, did you find him?" Aire asked.

"Yeah. It took some work to get him down, but we've got him. Agua is calling the others to call off the search right now. Listen though; I need you and Toph to make a space for Aang to rest on. We had to knock him out to bring him here."

"Right. No problem." Aire said. "Do you think we should get those smelling salts Fuego bought too?"  
"I'd prefer keeping him unconcious for a while, until we know how to deal with him." Oscuridad replied. "We don't need him ripping the inn to shreds too. We should be back soon, so just get the space ready."

"Got it, see you then." Aire said, as he broke off communciation. Turning to Toph he said, "Come on, you heard the man." But Toph didn't move from her spot.

Sighing, Aire said, "Come Toph, I know you don't like this stuff, but we talked about you carrying more weight after…."

"Someone's coming." Toph said suddenly.

"Yeah, I know."

"No not them. I can hear someone coming in this direction. It sounds like they're on a wagon. And it's slowing down."

Aire cocked his ear then, as he tried to hear whatever it was that Toph did. It took him a few minutes, but then he did hear the sound of a wagon jostling it's way over.

_Damn, she's good._ He thought, as he outwardly asked her if she wanted to check it out.

"Why not, it's better then making a bed." She answerd, as the two of yhem walked to the door. Walking outside, Aire saw Jouku dismounting a wagon carrying several large barrels.

"Hey Jouku. I thought you were supposed to be gone for the week." The falcon said.

"My trip was delayed." The innkeeper answered. "I had to bring these supplies back for the inn. And don't touch them!"

"Oh like we'd want to." Toph sneered.

"Your friend still needs to learn to watch her mouth." Jouku snapped back.

"Hey I'm sorry, but she's just a kid." Aire replied. "You know how they are."

"No I don't. And don't bother defending her. I forgot she can't watch her mouth, or anything else."

Before either Aire or Toph could say anything to that, Jouku pushed his way to the door and slammed it shut.

"Jeez, what crawled up his butt?" Aire asked aloud.

"I don't know, but I know just how to force it out." Toph said behind gritted teeth as she moved towards the door. But before she could go through with whatever painful plan she had in mind, Aire sidestepped her.

"I have a better idea." Aire said. "If you really want to pay him back, let's see exactly what's in those barrels, and just how much damage they can take. After all, we can't beat him up, but he deserves some kind of punishment."

That idea put a very wide grin on Toph's face, and she turned to face the wagon as Aire leapt over her and used his staff to pop one open.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Looks like clothes." The falcon replied. "Gimme a sec to see what I can find to stain them with."

As Aire moved over to another barrel, Toph sighed with good humor, and begna to search in her own way. Stamping her foot on the ground, she felt the vibrations as they traveled along the ground and up the wheels of the wagon. As the barrels began to vibrate, Toph 'read' them and got an idea of what sort of thing was contained inside. But while a few barrels contained regular things, Toph 'saw' something else. She read the image of things crouched in the barrels, things too big to be animals, one of which was in the barrel that Aire was trying to open.

"Aire, WAIT!" she cried out as the falcon popped the lid…….


	17. A Fatal Mistake

Chap. 17

A Fatal Mistake

"Ahh, here they are." Trueno said as he got to his feet. Sokka and the other Knights rose with him as Oscuridad's group appraoched, Aang slung over the bat's shoulder.

"Took you guys long enough." Tierra said as the two groups met.

"Hey we had to take the back routes to avoid the guardsmen. Last thing we need to do is to explain a major hurricane happening in Ba Sing Se." Agua replied.

"Are you sure he's all right?" Sokka asked, as he took a look at Aang, while Momo landed on his master's back and crawled over to look at the boy's face.

"He's still breathing, so I'm guessing so." Osduridad answered. "Besides, Zuko didn't strike him with that strong a bolt."

"I have to give you credit for that one." Trueno said with a chuckle. "The nerve blast is a classic; makes me wish I had gone with you guys."

"I'm kind of glad you didn't." Iroh said. "It was good to see Zuko finally master the technique."

"Yeah, too bad he had to use it on a person." Tierra said, with a hint of venom.

"Even so," Luz countered. "it was a hell of a thing to pull off. Nice work Zuko."

The former prince just nodded; he was unused to this kind of praise. The only one to ever say such things to him had been his mother, and later, his uncle. Ozai had never praised any of Zuko's efforts, and his teachers had given even less respect. Azula had been even worse, gloating over her progress while Zuko expereinced difficulty in almost every aspect of his training. That had been where Zuko's attitude of struggle and work in life had come from. While he still believed that philosphy and not relying on anyone else's approval, hearing praise like this was….. nice. _Now I know I made a good decsion joining these guys._ Zuko thought to himself.

"….. od job."

"Huh?" Zuko said, the sudden voice breaking him out of his thoughts. Looking in the direction it had come from, Zuko saw, of all people, Sokka facing him and repeating his words.

"I said, I don't like it, but I guess you did a good job." Sokka repeated. Zuko's eyes widened, but he managed to saw, "Thanks." Sokka just nodded, and said, "Come on guys, let's go home."

"Well, that was unexpected." Katara said, as Sokka began to walk towards the inn. "I guess you're starting to grow on him."

"And all you had to do was shoot his friend." Tierra muttered as he walked by. Zuko frowned as the Earth Knight walked by, but controlled his anger and began to follow. However, a moment later, Desierto walked by the dog and slapped him upside the head. Zuko smiled at that, and kept walking.

They reached the inn about twenty minutes later, and walked inside.

"Hey little brother, we're home!" Agua yelled out. But there was no reply.

"Toph, you here!" the cat yelled out again. But there was still no answer.

"They're probably outside and can't hear us." Katara suggested. "Let's get Aang down."

"Good idea." Oscuridad said, as he looked around the room for the sapce he'd instructed the falcon to make. But there was nothing here too.

"Blasted lazy little bird." The bat muttered, as he turned to the couch, which was littered with the remains of a lunch. Wiping everything off, the bat genlty unslung Aang from his shoulder and laid him down.

"I swear, after all the trouble he's gotten us into, he could at least try to do what I ask him." Oscuridad muttered aloud.

"What are you complaining about? Aire's been all right." Zuko said.

"You haven't spent five centuries with him." Bosque replied. "That guy is five hundred going on sixteen. Most of the time he's ok, but he can be like a little kid too. He'll forget what you ask him, or do something stupid that'll cause problems."

"Remember the time he gave that guy a tornado ride and then we found out he was 'The Chosen One?" Luz said. "It took four hours to convince him to listen to us after that."

"I don't know, I think you guys are still a little a hard on him." Katara said, as she placed a pillow behind Aang's head.

"That's not what you said when he blew two of your waterbending scrolls into the river at the last pit stop before the desert." Bosque said.

"HE DID _WHAT!"_

"Oh I thought you knew." The squirrel said, as Katara gritted her teeth in anger. But before she could properly express that anger, Iroh said, "Something doesn't feel right. I don't think Toph and Aire are outside."

"Why do you say that, Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"We all know Toph has almost no other interest then Earthbending; if she was outside, she'd be praticing. So why don't we hear anything?"

"He's right." Sokka said. "Toph would never ignore a chance to throw some dirt around."

"And Aire would be yelling at her to stop so he could read in peace." Hierro said. "Maybe we should take a look outside though. Maybe they're actually working on something peacefully."

"Sounds like a good idea, but an unlikely possibility." Oscuridad said.

"I'll go look." Zuko said, as he got to his feet.

"Not alone you won't." Tierra said, as he followed the former prince.

"You don't even trust me to look outside?" Zuko asked in astonishment, as they walked towards the door.

"Not when two of our friends might be missing." Tierra snapped back. "And not when you are so eager to leave the room."

"I was trying to be do the right thing! I'm worried about them too! Are you ever going to trust me?" Zuko yelled.

"When you earn it. So, no." the dog answered as they both reached the door. Muttering in frustration, Zuko pratically kicked the door open and the two peered outside.

The first thing they noticed was the long pole that been stuck in the ground. But the second, and more important thing, was Aire and Toph at the bottom, looking beaten and tied to the pole.

"Holy…. GUYS, GET OUT HERE!" Tierra yelled back in the house as Zuko ran for the pole. Reaching it quickly, he took a closer look at Top and Aire. At a closer look, neither of them actually had any bruises or marked. The beaten look they'd seen from a distance was beacuse were hunched over and their eyes were glazed… _Drugged. _Zuko realized as he bent down next to Toph and began to burn through the ropes that held her.

As the smell of smoke began to drift towards the girl, she sniffed involunatrily, then her eyes cleared somewhat, and she asked, in a tired sounding voice, "Smookkkkeee…. Zuko?"

"Hold on Toph, you'll be out in a second." Zuko said.

"No… forget…. Get out of here." She managed to get out.

"Toph, what are you talking about?" Zuko asked.

"This…. A … trap!" she spat out with as much strength as she could muster. As Zuko's eyes widened in shock, he heard the first screams coming from behind him.

Whipping around, Zuko saw at least eight Fire Nation soldiers pop out of various spots in the yard. They instantly placed themselves between the two groups cutting them off from each other. But what worried Zuko more was seeing two all-too familiar girls leap down from the back awning.

"Ty Lee? _Mai?_" Zuko whispered as the two of them turned to observe the commotion between the soliders and the others. Zuko heard a crack of thunder, and suddenly the soliders were blown back by the impact of a thunder bolt. But just as Trueno helped them deal with that situation, Mai and Ty Lee turned to fight. Mai threw a few daggers, trapping Sokka and Hierro to the wall. Ty Lee leapt into the group, dodging in and out, striking as many people and points as she could.

Zuko gritted his teeth as he wacthed and began to move forward to help, but before he could, he flet a hand wrap around his collar and hurl him backwards. As Zuko hit the ground, he stopped just in time to see Tierra step on his hands, pinning him to the ground.

"I knew you were a traitor, you lying bastard." The dog growled, as he raised his hammer up over his head. "You may have led them here, but you're not taking anyone back with you."

Zuko would've responded, but then, he say something through Tierra's legs that made him scream with terror. "UNCLE!" he yelled, as Mai shot an arrow through the old man's shoulder. His cocnern overtaking him, Zuko pushed off Tierra's feet, pushing the dog to the ground. The dog sruggled to get up as Zuko raced to Iroh's side. Im fact, the dog tunred juust in time to see Zuko push aside a pair of soldiers and move to help his uncle. "They _shot_ him?" Tierra whispered in shock as he saw Iroh fall to his feet in pain from the arrow. "But if they're traitors….."

"Oh, I just fucked up bad." Tierra said, as he got his feet to try to help. Racing forward, he caught to Zuko. But before either Zuko or Tierra could reach their friends, Ty Lee suddenly leapt in front of them. Reaching into her belt, the girl pulled out a piece of cloth and a small glass ball. Placing the cloth over her mouth and nose, she hurled it down at the two of them. The ball exploded on the ground, releasing a huge yellow cloud of gas. Too surprised to protect themselves, Zuko and Tierra began to cough as they inhaled the gas.

The effect was instant. As they coughed harder and harder, the of them both fell to their knees, overcome by the overpowering effect. Zuko passed out after a few moments, but perhaps because of his supernatural nature, Tierra stayed apright a moment longer. Raising his hand at Ty Lee, the dog attempted to use the earth against her. But as he tried to marshall his forces, his vision began to spin and twist, blurring the image of Ty Lee. As he felt his mind beginning to shut down under the effects of the gas, Tierra tried to hold on a few minutes longer, but the strain was too much, and he fell to the ground.

Ty Lee waited a moment longer for the gas to dissapate, then removed her cloth mask. Turning, she saw Mai and the soldiers movng away from the other heroes, who also been gassed and thrown into a pile of bodies.

"Shouldn't we do something about him?" Ty Lee asked, pointing to Iroh and the arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

"I suppose so." Mai sighed, as she halfheartedly motioned for a solider to help with the arrow. The solider grasped the shaft and with a grunt, pulled it out. Throwing it to the side, he then reached into his belt and brought out some gauze, which he beagn to wrap around the wound.

"I take it everything went well?" said a voice from the doorway. Mai and Ty Lee turned to see Jouku standing there.

"Oh yes, it was very fine. You did a great job bringing us here." Ty Lee said happily.

"I'm glad to hear that. Would it be too much to ask for my payment now?"

Mai reached into her belt and drew out a good-size money bag. Tossing it ove to Jouku, she said, "Take it and bring the wagon around. You have to get us out of here before you'll get the rest."

"Of course." Jouku grumbled as he started to do just that. Pausing, he asked, "What do you plan to do with the others?"

"Take them with us. Is that a problem?" Mai asked.

For a moment, Jouku thought about his answer. The plan had only been for Zuko and Iroh; the others had not been part of the deal. The innkeep didn't want for anyone else to be harmed, he just wanted to turn in a pair of fugitives and collect the reward. But thinking about the soliders that surrounded him, and the two girls behind him, made Jouku's decsion quite simple.

"No, not a problem at all." Jouku answered, as he went to get the wagon and take them out of Ba Sing Se.


	18. The Princess and the Secret

Chap. 18

The Princess and the Secret

It was the sound of treads clanking on the ground that awoke him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, to a blurry, watery vision of the world. He shook his head, trying to dispell the effect. Slowly, it began to work, as focus began to return. Zuko saw a large metal room, the walls bare off all decoration save a door and a small barred window. He turned, and saw the forms of the others, Knights and humans, unconcious and chained to the walls.

Except for Hierro, however; Zuko saw that the spider was encased in what looked like a huge wooden block, leaving only his head exposed. _Must be to stop him from touching the metal of the room. _Zuko thought. The Knights had told him that just like a Bender could use the element around them to their advantage, so could the Knights draw strength from them. However, since the Knights had a much deeper connection to the elements, they could draw actual physical strength simply by touching them; so making it impossible for Hierro to touch the metal would leave him weakened for quite some time.

As Zuko looked around, he saw similar signs on the other Knights. Luz had been blindfolded so she couldn't see the light coming in from the window, and Oscuridad had been placed directly in the light, blocking him from the shadows. _And what about me?_ Zuko wondered.He tried to move forward, and was stopped by chains of his own.

Unduanted, Zuko began to call the energy needed for Firebending. But as the energy began to flow through him, he began to feel sick and dizzy. As a wave of nausea flowed over him, Zuko fell back against the wall, the energy dissapiating. _What did they gas us with?_ Zuko wondered. _And how long is it supposed to last?_

But Zuko already knew the answer; until they arrived at their destination. Zuko could tell by the room and the sound of the treads that he was in the prison car of a Fire Nation envoy train. A older invention of his homeland, it was designed to run over open ground and cover great distance in a short amount of time. But only a few existed, and they were the sole province of the Royal Family, which meant only one thing; Azula.

_She must've recruited Mai and Ty Lee to help capture me and Uncle._ Zuko thought. _But now she's got the Avatar; we're just the icing on the cake. I've got to figure out some way to escape before they get us to her. _

But before Zuko could begin to formulate anything, the door swung open, and a firgure walked in.

"I thought I heard something." The figure said as it walked towards Zuko.

"Why are you doing this?" Zuko asked. "All my sister ever did to you was use you."

"So you expect me to sit out my life in boring New Ozai?" Mai answered. "I'm doing something now, something that has a purpose."

"You know it's wrong Mai." Zuko said. "Azula thinks of you as a pawn, something to amuse her. Don't you remember hw she humiliated us constantly when we were kids?"

"Don't bother Zuko. I'm not interested in reliving old times." Mai said, as she appraoched Zuko. Before he could react, Zuko felt a ether-soaked rag pressed over his nose and mouth. Zuko struggled to push it off, but with his chains restricting his movements, he couldn't escape. Mai held the rag there, forcing Zuko to breathe in the odor. Once again, Zuko felt conciousness slip away from him as he slid back into the black. As Zuko fell back against the wall, Mai caught him, and lowered him getntly. Once Zuko was secure, she turned and headed for the door. Once she got there though, she turned and took another look at Zuko. For a second, her impassive face seemed to soften, then she shut the door with a slam.

Time passed after that, how much time was unknown to Zuko or any others in the car. With the door closed, and only the small window to provide light, the passage of time seemed to crawl. But unbeknowst to those inside the car, their destination was not far off. After only four hours of travel, the car came to a halt. In the resulting hubris, eveyrone in the car was jerked forward, which slapped most of them out of their sleep (Mai had been perodically checking the car, and as with Zuko, had used the ether on anyone who was waking up).

"Oh man, I hate it when I wake up chained to a wall in a strange place!" Aire muttered aloud.

"Oh quit complaining!" Hierro snapped from his wooden prison.

"Does anyone actually know where we are?" Luz asked. "Because I can't see a damn thing."

"Oh how horrible!" Toph muttered.

"The last thing I remember is Ty Lee throwing a glass ball." Katara said. "Wait a second, where's Aang!"

"Over there." Zuko asnwered, moving his head in the direction of the corner wall. Eevryone turned to see the still unconcious Aang, gagged and chained to the wall much like he had been in Zuko's ship. Momo hung in a cage next to him. But before anyone could do anything about it, the door swung open and Fire Nations soldier entered.

"Your presence is required outside." The captain growled, as his troops moved to undo the chains holding them. The soldiers removed the chains and manacles from the wall with a tug, and once they were out, they used a small metal ball to hold the chains together and keep the group's hands chained. For Aang, they actually removed the section ofwall where he was placed and placed it onto a small metal cart; the same was done for Hierro and Momo. Tierra, Desierto, and Bosque were strapped onto long metal tables that balanced up right on two wheels, preventing them from making contact with their elements. Aire was bound up and gagged so he could not manipulate the air. Once the prisoners were safely ready to move, the captain motioned for them to be led outside.

The group was led into the second car and threw that car's door to the outside. Once there, they realized that they were at the coastline of the Earth Kingdom. But what was worse was seeing the large Fire Nation ship that loomed before them.

"That thing's even bigger then Zuko's ship!" Soka gasped in amazement. "Who does it belong to?"

"I'm afraid we're about to meet her." Iroh answered, his face in a scowl. Indeed, a procession was making it's way down the ship's gangplank, headed by a four person carriage. As it approached, the soldiers, including Ty Lee and Mai, kneeled in respect. The group remained standing, until they were forced to their knees by the guards. The procession made it's way down the plank, and stood at attention as the carriage made it's way down. Finally, the men holding it placed it on the ground, and the figure of Azula emerged from within.

The Fire Princess made her way over to the group slowly, looking each of them over as if they were flies in a jar. Finally, she tunred to Ty Lee and Mai and said, "Well done ladies. You've managed to do what my brother failied to do. Not a great surprise of course." She said with a glance at Zuko. The former prince growled at that, but Azula ignored it and continued.

"Then again, if my brother and uncle have forsaken the Fire Nation completely and sided with the Avatar, what can I expect?"

"Let me out of these chains, Azula, and I'll show you!" Zuko snapped back, his easily triggered temper already enraged at the taunts of his sister.

"Please Zuko. It was pathetic enough the last time we fought. I refuse to fight you when you're crippled." Azula answered. "That gas you were hit with is a new invention of the Fire Nation. It lasts for twenty-four hours, and makes using your 'chi' a sickening process and therefore makes bending impossible. And apparently, it can even affect the great Elemental Knights."

"Let's see," she said looking at the Knights. "If I remember correctly, your names are Nightstalker, Seaking, Groundqauke, Windrider, Forester, Thunderer, Forger, Lightweaver, and Sandshifter. Are those the names of legend, that everyone in all Four Nations knows and respects?" she asked, the mocking tone strong in her voice. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot one." She said, as she turned to face Fuego.

"So this is the great Firelord." Azula said, as she glanced down at Fuego. "I heard stories about you as a child. You were the greastest warrior of Darya, the being we named our king after. And here you are, chained at my feet. I suppose you never should meet your heroes; they're always disappointments."

"Funny you should mention that." The red man replied with a sneer. "Where I come from, there's another story about a man from the heavens who came to Earth. He wasn't what people expected either. In fact, they were so disappointed they nailed him to a hunk of wood and left him to die. But he proved them wrong."

"A pity that I've never heard it." Azula said. "But even so, I'm not foolish enough to try to kill the chosen of the gods. So, I'm willing to offer you a deal."

"And what would that be?" Fuego asked.

"Simple. I will release you if you swear to leave the Avatar and his friends with us, and also, if you provide me with some information. You see I recently did some trading with the Sandbenders. Fascinating people; you give them some food, and they'll give you anything, including information. One of them said that you had uncovered a library in the desert, one that held a secret that could be used against the Fire Nation. Tell me that, and I'll leave you and your siblings here when I take the Avatar, his friends, and my traitorious family to the Fire Nation."

For a second, Fuego stared agast at Azula. Then his mouth began to curl, and then the red man let out a strong laugh. "Do you really think I'm that much of a coward? Do you think that _we_ are, little girl? We've fought monsters beyond anything you've ever seen. We've seen things that only exist in your nightmares, things I can't even describe because you'd go insane from it. We've been to hell and back. So sorry Princess, but we're not gonna bend over because of your promises or threats, unlike your soldiers or your pathetic friends."

Azula's face darkened at that, but before she could say anything, another voice said, "Fuego, you don't speak for all of us. I do. Princess, I'll tell you what you want to know."

Fuego turned in shock, as did everyone else at the words of Oscuridad. But Azula looked at the bat with a smile on her face.

"I see that at least one of you has some sense." She said smugly, as she walked over to the black man. "Now then, why would you tell me?"

"I'm tired of sacrificing myself for everyone else. If the Fire Nation winning the war will help end that, I'll gladly tell you." The bat answered.

"Good answer. Now tell me."

"I'd prefer to make it a private conversation; this is a very dangerous secret. Bend down and I'll whisper it into your ear."

Azula did just that, and once she was at his level, Oscuridad leaned forward and whispered into her ear; "If you want to know the secret Princess, then I've got two words for ya…."

The bat paused a minute, and then getting as close as he could, yelled right into Azula's ear, "SUCK IT!" Azula jumped back in surprise and anger, one hand clasped over her ear. Oscuridad just sat there, a wide smirk on his face.

"You heard my brother, Princess. We've done too much and seen too much to be bought off. So you can shove your offer, you crazy-ass psycho bitch!" the bat spat at her.

Azula hissed through her teeth at the bat, and began to bring her arms up into a Firebending stance. But then, she saw something that caused her to stop. Bringing her arms down, she looked at the group and said, "Well then, I guess you'll be going off to te Fire Nation then. Captain, make sure that our guests' quarters are ready."

The captain quickly nodded and moved off in the direction of the ship. But before he got there, Azula called out, "And also ready the interrogation room. The Knights may not talk, but I think I know who will."

At that, Zuko and Iroh both grew fearful, thinking that she would pick one of them or Katara or Toph. But instead, Azula pointed to Sokka.

"This one isn't even a bender. He should break quite easily." Azula said, as the guards picked up Sokka and began to lead him towards the ship.

"NO! Let him go!" Katara yelled out.

"Bring me in there, see how easy I break!" Toph cried out.

"You spoiled BITCH!" Agua snarled at Azula.

But as with Zuko, Azula ignored the comments and turned towards the ship, as the guards led the others onto the ship to be imprisoned.

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	19. The Interrogation

Chap. 19

Interrogation

The guards led the group down deep into the bowels of the huge ship, a journey that felt like it took hours, espcially considering that everyone was still under the effects of the gas. But the guards took no mercy on them and pushed and prodded anyone who started to fall behind. Finally, they reached the ship's jail. Unlocking the door, the guards roughly shoved the group inside and quickly locked up those who weren't already incapacitaed. Aang they attached to another section of the wall, and Hierro was merely placed down on the ground. Once everyone was safely secure, the head guard smirked and said, "Enjoy your stay, honored guests." Laughing the guards then turned and left, locking the door behind them.

"Well, this is the pits." Toph said, as she angrily rattled her chains.

"Complaining about it won't help." Fuego said, trying to stay optimistic. "I don't suppose anyone can actually use their powers right now?"

"If you mean without feeling like I'm gonna throw up, no." Aire answered. "God, how do things go so bad so fast?"

"Actually, this isn't that much different for me and Zuko." Iroh said. "We've had bad luck for almost three years now."

"Uncle, how is that supposed to help?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know; it sounded reassuring." Iroh answered nonchlantly.

Zuko sighed then, and turned to look at Katara. The girl's face was a mask of worry and anger, and Zuko knew exactly why.

"I'm sure Sokka will be fine. He's too stubborn to give in." He said, in a voice that he hoped sounded like he believed it. Unfortanetly, Zuko knew his sister was vicious when it came to getting something she wanted. Azula cared for nothing and no one else, and she would do anything to get the information out of Sokka, even if it killed him.

Thankfully, Zuko was apparently a good liar, as Katara said in a voice that sounded like it would break any second, "I know he is but…. it's just everything! Aang hates me, we're trapped and heading for the Fire Nation, and now my brother's being tortured! Does it ever end?"

"It has to." Luz said suddenly. "If it doesn't, the Fire Nation will collapse under it's own failings. That's the problem with evil; it always turns on itself. But we can't sit here and cry about it. We have to figure something out."

"Maybe we can figure out some way to get Hierro out of that block." Tierra suggested. "That would let him touch the metal and get a charge to heal himself from the gas."

"Great idea, maybe you can break him out to kill him for'betraying' you too." Zuko snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry ok?" Tierra answered back. "I know I screwed up back there…"

"Yeah you did." Desierto growled back. "For God's sake, even Sokka started to trust Zuko. But not you, you have to be so goddamn paranoid! You always do this, Tier. You always refuse to belive anyone can change and it always ends up getting us in trouble! Why can't you grow up? What can't you stop being as dense as the rock you represent?"

Tierra looked at the wolf with a stunned expression, then slowly looked over the room and asked, "C'mon guys, you don't always think that, do you?"

But the only response he got was silence and a lot of angry stares.

"We saw what happened." Agua said finally. "And it's not the first time, Tier. If Zuko had managed to reach us, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. But he didn't, and now we're all powerless and trapped on a shop headed for the worst possible place in the world. All because you couldn't learn to see past your own nose. Des is right, you need to grow up."

With that, the cat turned away. Tierra sat there a minute, his face stuck in that same stunned expression, then he too turned away, to stare down at his reflection in the polished metal floor and contemplate who he was looking at.

* * *

"Let me go!" Sokka yelled as he struggled against the guards. Undanuted, they led him through the door and into the interogation room, a large empty room filled with several different torture devices. Once inside, they roughly hurled him to the floor. As Sokka slowly pulled himself up, a shadow fell upon him. Looking up, he sw the figures of Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai standing before him.

"I don't suppose 'interrogation' means comfortable massage in the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked.

"No, but I could do that anyway." Ty Lee said with a smile. But Azula took a different approach. She saw the boy before as nothing more then a scroll waiting to be unraveled. Azula barely had any respect for others, but she had no respect at all for non-benders of other Tribes. She planned to break this boy and then let the Fire Lord have him for target pratice. _A pity he couldn't have at least been from the Fire Nation._ She thought as she began her speech. _Ty Lee was right; he is cute….._

"Joking won't get you out of this, little boy. Now, if you want to get out of this room without serious injury, you can tell us what we want to know."

"Why don't you go back to the Fire Nation and keep shoving your head up your father's ass?" Sokka snapped.

Azula's eyes went wide at that, but she kept her voice steady and said, "My father is going to rule the world soon; I'd show respect."

"I know you have." Sokka said. "Zuko told us how you spend all your time sucking up to the Fire Lord. You've done it since you were six." He spat out, as he began to speak in a high-pitched, girly sounding voice. "Oh yes Father, I'll gladly learn how to be an emotionless lunatic for you."

"At least I did something important with my life, you little peasant!" Azula snapped back, her temper beginning to show.

"I protected my entire village! All you did was stay in your sheltered palace and let everyone blow you full of hot air. Then Daddy finally sends you out with a big fancy ship and you think you can just force everyone to work for you and burn down everyone that doesn't! You're pathetic! Your brother is a better person then you; at least he had to do things himself!"

"How dare you!" Azula screamed, her button finally pushed as Ty Lee and Mai gasped at Sokka's boldness. If there was one thing she could not stand, it was being second to anyone; and if that somone was Zuko, it was completely unbearable.

"Guards, crack him!" The Princess ordered. The guards immdiately grabbed Sokka and dragged him over to two large columns. Pulling out his arms, they shacked him to them, forcing him to stand with his back to them. Reaching out, one of the guards then tore off his shirt, while another grabbed a long whip.

"Last chance peasant boy." Azula snarled as the guard with the whip came closer to Sokka's unprotected back. But Sokka stood there and remained silent.

"Fine." Azula said, as she motioned for the guard to begin. He nodded and brought up the whip, only to crack it down a second later on Sokka's back. The boy yelped in pain, but remained standing. But the guard continued, bringing the whip down again and again.

The three girls each watched differently. Mai stared on indifferently. Ty Lee's happy façade began to break away, until she finally had to turn away. But Azula watched intently, as her mind raced over Sokka's words. _How dare he speak to me like that?! _She raged inside her mind. _I am Princess of the Fire Nation. I am my father's greatest weapon. No one says such things to me, especially not some weak little peasant from the Water-Tribe._

But as Azula finished that thought, she noticed something about this weak little peasant. After only a few strokes, Sokka's back was raw and bleeding. Blood seeped down from the open wounds and soaked his pants. Yet he stood there proudly, and he hadn't made a sound since the first strike of the whip.

_What the hell? _Azula thought, as she felt her anger begin to grow. This little peasant was still defying her! "Give me that you fools!" Azula snapped, as she stepped forward and grabbed the whip from the guards. "If you can't do it right, then watch and learn." Azula snapped, as she began to whip Sokka herself. With her rage behind her, Azula brought the whip down twice as fast as the guards and twice as hard. Blood began to splash the deck, but still Sokka would not speak. Finally, Azula let out a scream of rage, and through the whip down.

The guards, Ty Lee, and Mai stared at the Princess in surprise; Azula never stopped until she got what she wanted. However, they didn't dare to question her as she spoke.

"If this boy hasn't cracked yet, then he doesn't know anything." She said, her face a controlled mask once again. "We're wasting our time. Take him down, and bring him to the infirmary. I don't need him bleeding to death on my ship. It'll just be one more body to toss over."

The guards were obviously surprised, but they quickly obeyed, removing the shackles and dragging the near unconscious Sokka out of the room.

"That was a new move for you." Mai said dryly.

"I'm not interested in wasting time." Azula snapped. "But if he won't talk, perhaps there's a way I can get the others to."

"Good luck then." Mai said. Looking over at the hanging shackles, she said, "He was much stronger then I thought."

Azula scowled at that, and headed for the door, eager to put her plan into motion. But as she left, one thought briefly went through Azula's mind; _He was stronger then I thought too. _


	20. Love and Secrets

Chap. 20

The Loves and Secrets of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth

The cell was deathly quiet, as the prisoners waited for word of Sokka. Katara stared at the cell door with a fearful patience, wanting to see even the slightest sign of her brother. Iroh held the girl's hand in his, trying to comfort her with his presence if not his words. The Knights were discussing a plan to escape, but it wasn't having much success. Toph added her own comments from time to time, while Tierra continued to reflect on the situation and Aang hung unconscious on the wall. As for Zuko was attempting to divert his worry through meditation, as he tried to reinvigorate his gas-ridden body.

But his body was too weak to focus, and his mind was too conflicted to concentrate. Zuko might not have liked Sokka at first, but when he'd started to trust him, Zuko started to feel like he really belonged in the group. Now Sokka was suffering because of Zuko's family. Even though it wasn't his fault, Zuko felt the guilt flow through him, as he finally gave up on meditating.

_Dammit Azula, do you have to destroy everything I care about? _He thought to himself as he looked at Katara's worried face. _My family and I have caused her nothing but grief. I have got to make this right._ Unfortunately, he had no idea how he was going to do that. Looking at Katara, Zuko started to say something, but then shut his mouth. No words could ease the girl's pain now, and Zuko had never been a good speaker.

But words were spoken anyway, as a garbled mess came from the mouth of the captured Avatar. Everyone turned to see as Aang shook the cobwebs and brought his head up. The young boy looked around for a moment, trying to understand his surroundings, then turned to look at the group.

"Fire Nation troops came after us." Trueno said, answering the boy's unspoken question. "They used some kind of gas on us that screwed with our powers. They gassed you too while you were asleep. I wouldn't try to Airbend."

"Do you remember what happened in the market?" Iroh asked.

Aang nodded. "I remember finding the merchant that had Appa."

"You did? Did he have him?" Aire asked.

"No. He sold him to some Fire Nation troops outside the city. He should be halfway to the Fire Nation by now." Aang said sadly, as he dropped his head.

"Oh Aang, I'm so sorry." Katara said, her concern for Sokka now replaced by concern for the young Airbender. But while Katara's words would've comforted him once, now they only reminded him of what he had seen. His face darkening, Aang glared at her and turned his head away.

"Aang, please don't do this now." Katara pleaded, instantly knowing what was wrong. "What happened before…."

"It's fine." Aang said coldly. "You and Zuko should make a good couple."

"It didn't happen like that." Katara said. "It was an accident."

"Sure."

"She's telling the truth." Zuko said. "I knocked her into me and it happened. That's all it was and all it will be. I swear to you on my honor, nothing more happened Aang."

At that, everyone turned to face the former prince, even Aang. "Zuko did you just call him by his right name?" Iroh asked.

"Aren't I supposed to address friends by their names Uncle?" Zuko asked. Turning back to the boy, Zuko said, "I spent the last year chasing you, Aang, for the respect of a madman that I could never have. I've been more at peace with this group then I have in the time I spent at sea. I owe you for that and I couldn't dishonor myself by making you feel that I was changing your family; only you could do that."

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, each waiting for the other to respond. Aang thought about what Zuko had said. He knew that Zuko was extremely honorable, and he would never go back on it. But could something like that really be accident? And what did Zuko mean by how Aang changed his family? As the young Airbender looked at the former prince, he wondered for a second if Zuko knew….. no it was impossible, no one knew about how he felt about Katara. Thinking of that, Aang remembered the words of wisdom and compassion from Gyatso, and finally said, "I believe you Zuko. I'm sorry I ran off like that."

"Anyone would have Aang." Luz said. "But for now, we have a bigger problem. We have to figure out how to get out of her and find Sokka."

"Sokka's gone?" Aang said, just now noticing. "I thought it was quiet in here. What happened?"

"Azula took him to the torture room." Katara said with venom. "She apparently heard we found something in the desert and she wants to find out what it is."

"But Sokka would never tell that." Aang said.

"Then Azula will torture him until he dies." Desierto said bluntly. "She's got no patience for anything."

But the wolf was wrong. A moment later, the door swung open as the silhouettes of two guards filled the doorway. With a grunt, they hurled a figure onto the floor of the cell.

"Sokka!" Katara yelled, as she saw her brother, his body wrapped in bloody bandages, was dragged to an empty set of chains and imprisoned. Another shadow filled the room then, one that the group recognized instantly.

"What did you do to him!" Katara cried out as Azula entered the cell.

"Not enough to break him." Azula answered. "But it doesn't matter. I have a better plan for you."

"And what would that be? Crying to Daddy and having him make us talk?" Fuego snapped.

"Actually, it's far simpler. Tomorrow morning, I will call an assembly of the crew. You will be led out and asked to talk. If you refuse, I'll have a nice execution." Azula sneered.

She would have continued, but then Azula noticed something strange. Tierra, who had been deep in thought and looking down at the floor, was now staring at the Princess with a rather queer expression.

"What are you looking at?" Azula snapped.

The dog was quiet a moment, then said, almost thoughtfully, "I'm not sure."

Taking it as an insult, Azula's eyes narrowed, and she stomped out of the cell, the guards following. As the door slammed shut, Katara and the others turned their attention to Sokka, Tierra remained as he was, a strange, thoughtful expression on his face.

The reflection period he'd endured had brought the dog some insight on his closed minded nature. Being so immobile in his thinking had been part of the reason the group had been captured. It was a mistake Tierra wanted to redeem himself for. But now there was something else that the dog had to ponder. While the Knights were all gifted in obvious ways, there were other, less explosive enhancements they possessed. Due to their animal nature mixing with powerful magic, some of the Knights had enhanced senses. Oscuridad could hear a pin dropping from anywhere. Bosque was exceptionally agile. Agua and Aire could see for miles… literally. And Desierto, Luz, and Tierra could smell better then the Shirshu, Tierra best of all.

Being locked in such a small room with so many people had given Tierra a chance to observe many different scents. But there had been a few from the humans that had qualities the dog had found shocking. It had taken until Azula entered for him to realize them, and then her scent had only added to the confusion. However, Tierra now had a theory about how they all related. The question was, did that mean that…… _If I need to be open-minded, this is a great place to start. _Tierra thought. _But I can't just say something like this without understanding of it. I need to make some calls._

* * *

However, in the mess surrounding Sokka, the dog didn't get a chance to call until late that night. As everyone had discussed plans, glared at him for not involving himself, and eventually falling asleep, Tierra had remained silent, as he developed his own plan. The dog had gotten a good view of the outside of the ship as he'd been led in. He knew that Azula or someone had kept some items onboard that had connection to the earth. Tierra could use that, but the opportunity would only be available to him if his information was correct. To find that out, he needed to make contact. In his weakened state, it would be dangerous, but he had to try, not just for his plan, but for his friends onboard; this concerned all of them, in a way that they never would have suspected.

Slowly, the dog closed his eyes and began to relax. As his breathing slowed, he began to call out in his mind, repeating a single name over and over….

_Chiron._

_Chiron._

_Chiron._

His body began to relax even further, as Tierra felt his spirit being pulled from his body. But his body would not let go so easily. The weakening gas pulled at him from the pores of his body, dragging his spirit back. Nausea swept over him. But Tierra fought against his weakness, as his spirit reached for power hidden deep under the waters, the power of the rock of the ocean floor. In this metaphysical state, Tierra could draw strength from all earth, not just what he could touch. He felt the power flow into him, and the last of his earthly confines broke, as he was pulled into the realm……

There was a flash of white light, and then Tierra stood on a large blue platform, in the middle of a strange realm that looked like the inside of prism. Light twisted and spiraled from everywhere. But Tierra took no notice; he'd been her before. Instead, he looked in front of him, at the brown-robed hooded man that stood there. As Tierra looked on, the man reached up and pulled his hood down, revealing a face that was dark brown, and looked as chiseled as an ancient piece of stone. The man looked at Tierra, who knelt down and said, "Thank you, Father."

"I take it there is much to discuss if you called to come here." Chrion, the Architect of Earth, one of the gods of the world, said to his Knight.

"There is Father, but it is not you I must discuss it with." Tierra said.

"Who then?"

"I must speak with Darya and Ruta. There is a mystery only they could unravel upon the earth."

"And with your brothers weakened, you could not use their weapon-stones to speak with them." Chiron said, nodding in agreement. "Very well. I shall call them now."

Within seconds, a pillar of flame erupted to the left of Chron, while a spout of water appeared to his left. They vanished in seconds, leaving a red-robed man and a blue-robed woman in their place.

"What is it you need, Groundquake?" Darya, Architect of Fire asked.

"I need your knowledge, Master." Tierra said.

"Of what?" Ruta, Architect of Water asked. She pulled back her hood, revealing a smooth white face, with blond hair that flowed down to her shoulders.

"I need knowledge of your people. Specifically, four of them, the children the Avatar travels with, and the one trying to kill him…….."


	21. Revelation Part 1: Firewater

Chap. 21

Revelation Part 1: Firewater

Tierra's talk with his Masters lasted less then an hour. In that time, they told him everything he needed to know to prove his theory right. But time moves differently in the plane of existence where the Architects reside. In the half-an-hour Tierra spoke with them, a night passed by on Earth. In fact, by the time Tierra returned to his body, the sun had already risen…..

He awoke with a start, as he felt the shift in his form. The weight and pressures of his body seemed overwhelming for a moment, but the dog was used to this and got past it. Looking around, he saw the others were still asleep. _Damn, was I up there all night? _He thought, as he saw the sunlight streaming in through the bars. _At least it was worth it. Now I just have to figure out how to use it._

The dog would've continued with his throughts, but then the door opened. The guards marched in silently, and moved quickly to ascertain the prisoners as they awoke. The manacles and chains were removed from the wall, but kept together so that the prisoners' hands were still locked. The 'special needs' prisoners were handled as before, and the group was slowly forced up onto the deck of the ship.

The sunlight was blinding after a night in the dark cell. The group squinted as they were led past the long line of Fire Nation soldiers. However, they did manage to see that the coastline they had been at yesterday was gone. Instead, there was a large ocean, with no land in site. But they had not time to observe it, as they were led onto the main section of the deck, and once again, forced to their knees. Looking up at the helm of the ship, they saw Azula's procession come forth, Mai and Ty Lee walking alongside. The soldiers bowed, as the carriage was let down, and Azula stepped out.

Slowly the Princess walked down to them, her face eager to inflict punishment. She walked over to Aang first, and asked, "So, are you ready to talk now?"

"Forget it." Aang said, defiance bright in his voice.

"All right. Does anyone else have something to say?" Azula said, ignoring the comment.

For a moment, there was silence as the group looked up at Azula. Finally, the blindfolded Luz spoke. "I think I speak for everyone here Princess, when I say this,….. Bite me, you crazy, sadistic, failure."

Now, Azula had expected no response to her question, and she was quite prepared for Luz's response. "Very well. I see you've made your choice." The Princess moved in closer to Luz for a second, then suddenly shot out a burst of lighting straight at the fox's face. It struck hard and knocked her back five feet, her body convulsing as it flew through the air.

"NOO! YOU BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU!" Oscuridad howled as he switched from his wife back to Azula.

"I don't think you're in a position to tell me what's going to happen." Azula said, as she turned her back on the bat. But before she could move away, she heard a weak, cracked voice say, "I think…. You need to do more then that."

Azula whipped around, to see Luz pulling herself up. The fox's face was burned on the right side below the blindfold, almost splitting it down the middle. Oscuridad hissed at the sight of it, but as they watched, the burnt skin began to revert, to reknit itself. Within seconds, her face was normal again.

"I'm afraid we're a bit harder to kill then that." She said, as she was moved back to the group by the guards.

"I see." Azula said thoughtfully. "But that only applies to you. Your friends are far more vulnerable. But I don't think I'll kill them myself."

Azula paused for a moment, then said, "Zuko, my brother, please stand." As the guards dragged him up, Azula walked over to him, a grim smile on her face.

"Tell me Zuzu, do you still want to go home?" she asked. Zuko looked at her, but kept silent.

"Well, if you do, I can arrange it. Father will let you back if you redeem yourself, and if I vouch for you. And all you have to for that is to kill your new friends, and tell me the secret. You can do to; I have an antidote for the gas right here." Azula said, reaching into her vest and dangling a blue sphere in front of Zuko.

"You must know; they wouldn't take you in unless they totally trusted you. Think about it Zuko. I'm offering you the chance to go home. I'm offering you your throne. Don't you miss it? The garden? Mom's tree? Everything?"

Zuko's eyes went downward, staring at the ground. Inwardly, Azula smiled; she had fooled him again. Zuko was so easy to manipulate, so ready to believe anything she told him. He likely knew it was a lie, but all Zuko wanted was for their father to love him. _What a joke. _Azula thought. _Zuko is too pathetic for anyone to care about. No wonder he ended up with Uncle; they're the perfect pair._

"I do want to go home." Zuko said suddenly. Azula nodded, waiting for him to fall into her hands. "But I don't want to bring any blood home with me."

Azula's good mood vanished, as Zuko turned and said to her, "I'm not your pawn anymore Azula. You've never done anything but lie to me, and I was too naïve to stop believing you. They have been more truthful to me then you ever were. Our father is a tyrant, and I will not beg him for anything anymore. But if you want to be his lapdog, have fun with it, _Lula._"

Behind Azula, Mai and Ty Lee gasped, as Zuko uttered his sister's hated nickname. Azula's eyes darkened, and she instantly whirled around and kicked Zuko in the chest, forcing him back down.

"I should've known." Azula sneered. "I can't believe that you and I can share the same pure Fire Nation blood. But perhapsI can find out for myself when I see yours on the deck."

But before Azula could strike down her brother, a strange thing happened. A sound began to fill the air, low at first, but growing every second. Azula turned to see it, as did all the others on the deck, once they realized what the sound was.

It was Tierra.

And he was laughing.

The dog sat there, imprisoned and in extreme danger, laughing like a madman. It was the laugh of a man who has just heard the best joke of his life, a joke so good that nothing else is important. It was the laugh of man who knows that the joke is not from a person, but a joke that is told by fate, and only to him. It was because of that Tierra laughed, as everyone began to stare at him in growing bewilderment and fear.

"Has he gone crazy?" Ty Lee asked aloud.

"I always thought it would happen eventually." Oscuridad said.

"Oh, I'm sorry everyone." Tierra said, as the laughs began to trickle off. "But the Princess made such an excellent joke."

"What are you babbling about?" Azula snapped, not wanting to admit that the laughter had disturbed her as much as everyone else.

"Why, what you said about blood." The dog answered. "After all, so many people do so much traveling in the world. And love has that funny way of crossing borders. Can anyone really be of pure blood anymore?"

"If this has a point, you'd best get to it." Azula said, angry at this strange interruption in her execution.

"Why, I simply want to point out who's who on board." Tierra answered. "After all, there are a lot of Firebenders on board, as well as Water, Earth, and Airbenders. Maybe there are family ties here that nobody knows of. Let's find out, shall we?"

Turning to Agua and Fuego, he said, "Gentlemen, if you wouldn't mind helping me here?"

"Tier, what are you talking about? This is not a good stall." Agua said back.

"Oh I'm not stalling. I just need you guys to help me uncover some family history." The dog said. "After all, you can still tell who's who, right? The gas must've worn off enough for you to do that, even if you still can't escape? "

"Please tell me you know what you're doing." Fuego whispered. Tierra's only response was to shrug. The two Knights looked at each other, then shrugged. Closing their eyes, they both concentrated on what Tierra had asked them. Suddenly, their eyes opened, Fuego's glowing a darker red then normal, Agua's a strange bright blue. Cries of surprise and amazement suddenly began to spring up from the crew, as Tierra watched with a smile.

"What on earth is this?" Katara wondered, as she looked at the guards in front of her. They were all staring at something on their hands, something that was glowing bright red. Katara turned and saw Iroh staring at his hand as well. Seeing it a closer angle, Katara saw that the glow was caused by a symbol that had suddenly appeared in the former general's hand. It was a symbol Katara recognized instantly; the symbol of the Fire Nation. But then, Katara felt something appear in her hand, something that glowed blue in the corner of her eye. Looking down, Katara gasped as she saw the symbol of the Water Tribe trace itself in her hand, outline in blue.

"You see Princess," Tierra explained. "your bending powers come from the Architects, the same as ours. Those with bending potential are marked for those elements at birth. It connects you to them, though not as deeply as us. It allows us to show who's been touched by the elements, to make the symbols appear."

"So what?" Azula sneered. "Did you think making me look at my hands would do something? I don't need a symbol; I know what my allegiance is."

"I think you might want to recheck that." The dog said with a smirk. Annoyed, Azula looked down at her hands, only to gasp in shock. Bringing both her hands up, she stared in horror, unable to believe what was in front of her. As Tierra watched, Zuko saw his sister's reaction, and wondered what could scare her so badly. But before he could, he felt whatever power the Knights were channeling come into him as well. Without thinking, Zuko looked down at his hands. But when he looked, he understood his sister's fear. On his right hand, the symbol for the Fire Nation glowed brightly in red. But in his left hand, outlined in blue, was the symbol for the Water Tribe.

Zuko stared in amazement at his hands, as Azula noticed it on him as well. The two of them stared at each other, their open palms exposed. As the others saw it as well, Tierra chuckled and said, "You understand now Princess? You are not of pure blood, and neither is your brother. You two are children of the Fire Nation _and _the Water Tribe."


	22. Revelation Part 2: Ozai's Exploits

Hey guys, I just wrote this now after all the reviews you sent. Believe me, if you thought the last chapter had a huge ending, wait till you see this!

Chap. 22

Revelation Part 2: Ozai's Exploits

"Tier, how in the hell did you know this?" Hierro asked in amazement as he looked over at Azula and Zuko. The siblings were still staring at each other in shock, unable to believe their own eyes. But they weren't the only ones; the rest of the crew and the Avatar gang had seen it too, and gaped in shock, even as Agua and Fuego called back their powers symbols faded away.

"Oh, I figured this out while we were in the cell." The dog answered nonchalantly. "I have to thank you for that Princess; I never would've noticed the scents without such close quarters."

"Scents?" Toph asked in confusion, being the only one left who wasn't staring in amazement, for obvious reason.

"Indeed. The advantage of being a magically-enhanced dog." Tierra said. "But nationality isn't something that can be smelt. But there was something about you two," he said, with a look at the siblings. "Something I couldn't put my finger on. So I did a little checking with some people you might know, Darya and Ruta?"

"You made contact with them?" Oscuirdad gasped as Zuko and Azula broke out of their shock and turned to face the dog.

"Yeah. And they told me a fascinating story. Would you like to hear?" Tierra asked. Before anyone could answer, he began.

"You see, before Ozai became Firelord, he had to earn his keep. Since he wasn't the firstborn heir, he had to prove his worth on the battlefield. He was quite honorable too; going after the weaker Southern Water Tribe constantly, having his soldiers do all the work, then finishing it off, and best of all, claiming the best of the spoils for himself. Isn't that right, Iroh?" the dog asked, looking at the former general.

Iroh nodded, and Tierra continued. "Well it seems that one day, Ozai came across a beautiful Water-Tribe girl in the spoils of his conquest. He instantly knew he'd found his wife, and took her back with him to the Fire Nation. Of course, he had to make some changes so that he wouldn't be marrying a savage Water Tribe member. He took her to the Fire Sages, and using their knowledge, they bleached her skin, dyed her hair black, in short, turned her into a perfect Fire Nation lady. Ozai married her in a month. Some time later, she became pregnant, and eventually gave birth to a bouncing baby boy that we all know and love." He said, motioning towards Zuko.

"But what Ozai didn't know was that this girl had been betrothed back home, and her husband wasn't about to let her go without a fight. It took him a year, but he made his way into the Fire Nation and rescued his lady. Ozai was away on conquest, so he didn't learn of it for three more months. He was enraged, but only at the fact that someone had dared to steal his property. Ozai sent several ships out to find her, while he kept himself content with another captured Water-Tribe girl. In fact, he was so content with her that she gave birth to his second and best loved child, a daughter. So good news for you Zuko; she's not your sister, she's your half-sister"

"Anyway, the man and lady went back to the South Pole, and spent five years there, hidden from Ozai, who believed that his wife had escaped on her own. They were married in the Water-Tribe, and over the five years they spent together, the lady delivered two more children. She and her husband thought that they would be happy forever. But they were wrong."

"Eventually, Ozai turned his attention back to the South Pole. He went with five warships to take back his wife. The Southern Tribe battled back for three days, a valiant effort, but a failed on. Ozai broke through the lines, and demanded his wife or he would destroy the Tribe. The man and the lady knew they could not put the entire tribe in danger, so she was forced to return to the Fire Nation, while the man was told that any attempt to reclaim her would result in her death and the extermination of the tribe. Ozai left, the man eventually remarried the woman his children would know as their mother, and Ozai kept his wife at his side until her death."

Tierra finished his tale, and looked over at Zuko and Azula with an almost sad expression. "Ozai never got over it though." He said. "He hated the mixed blood that flowed in both of your veins, and he spent as much time as he could trying to mold you into Firebenders. He succeeded with you Azula, but Zuko was too much like his mother. Ozai couldn't mold him, and so he chose to hate him instead. Sad really. He still hates you both in his heart. Once the war is over, he plans to throw you both out, and rule the world alone."

Zuko's face remained impassive as he heard this; he had already known this about his father, and had finally grown to accept it. But Azula's face merely grew angry, although a spark in her eyes said otherwise.

"I have had enough of your lies!" she cried out, her voice filled with angry denial. "Your magic put that abomination on my hand, and now you expect me to believe that my father hates me? I am his greatest weapon, and I have made him proud! You will pay for your lies, and if I can't kill you, I'll kill your friends!"

With that, Azula suddenly reached out and grabbed Sokka's collar. Drawing him close, she began to draw the lightning to her. Sokka looked into her face defiantly, unafraid of what was to come. But then something happened. As Azula looked upon Sokka's face, something began to happen to her own. The spark in her eyes began to grow, as her anger began to dissipate. The lightning vanished, as she slowly put him down with a strange look on her face, a look that almost seemed like recognition.

"You know don't you?" Tierra said. "You see it in him. And you'd see it in his sister too. She's there too."

"Tierra, who's there?" Katara asked.

"Don't you know?" the dog asked back. "Didn't you hear my story? That's all you needed to hear."

Behind the dog, Hierro began to think. He had always been the most analytical of the Knights, and this was where he excelled. The spider's mind flowed over the story, trying to think of any detail that could lead to an answer. It had to have something to do with the Water-Tribe, after the lady had been taken back, but what,…..

Suddenly, Hierro let out a gasp, as his mind pieced it together, and as Tierra spoke his thoughts.

"Your mother," the dog said, looking at Zuko and Azula. "The woman who gave birth to one of you and raised both of you," he paused here, as if searching for the right words, then finished it as he looked over at Sokka and Katara, "was their mother too."


	23. All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1

Chap. 23

All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1

Tierra's entire speech had moved mountains in the lives of those it affected. Two people had learned that the blood in their veins flowed from two sources that had been opposing each other since the dawn of time. They had learned that the person they had thought closest in blood to themselves was only halfway there. But this last revelation, that affected not only them but brought in two others, others of that source they had thought their eternal opposite, finally brought the mountains home for everyone.

Gasps were heard allover the ship, from crew and prisoners alike, as Zuko, Azula, Sokka, and Katara stared at each with a mix of awe and disbelief. These four, who had been enemies for so long, were now linked by a bloodline of unbelievable coincidence and power, that they could never escape from. However, nothing like this is ever accepted easily.

"T-This can't be." Zuko whispered as he stared at the Water-Tribesmen… his family, his kin. He stared at the boy who had hated him for so long, his brother now. And the girl who had been so kind to him, who had been his sister all along.

"I can't believe it. You can't be my brother!" Sokka cried out, as he looked out at this Firebender, that he had spent so much of his time hating, and yet growing to respect despite of it.

"All this time we fought,….., he was….." Katara whispered, as she remembered the pity she had felt towards Zuko when she heard about his scar. She felt it again now, as she realized that her own kin had experienced such pain and suffering.

But Azula, despite her expression of confusion and shock, switched back into her standby of uncaring and laughed. "You think this is enough?" she asked Tierra. "You think I'm stupid enough to believe these lies?"

"Oh believe it." Tierra said. The others turned back at the sound of the dog's voice, as he spoke. "This is straight from the mouths of Darya and Ruta, the Father and Mother of the Water-Tribe and the Fire Nation. They know the fates of all their peoples and all their histories. Especially four like you, so closely entwined with the fate of your nations, and the whole world."

"Please. Even if Zuko is unfortunate enough to be related to these two savages, I'm not. And if you were counting on some kind of misguided loyalty to my brother to save them, you were wrong." Azula said, as she walked over to her imprisoned brother.

As Zuko looked up, he saw her ignite both fists in waves of blue fire. "Let's see if I can do as well as Dad did." Azula said, as she began to move towards the unscarred side of Zuko's face.

"Why bother? Even if you kill him, it won't make a difference." Tierra replied, speaking quickly as Azula moved closer to Zuko. "You'll never have what you really want. You'll never be perfect."

At that, Azula paused, the flames held right over Zuko's exposed skin. Seeing his chance, Tierra continued.

"You spent all this time trying to be the perfect Firebender, the perfect example of the teachings of your nation. You might be a perfect Firebender, but you are a failure anyway. You can never be what your father wants. You can never be what your country wants. You'll always be what you are now; a half-breed, belonging to neither side. The word will spread Azula. Whether or not we live and die today, these men know the secret you hold within you. No matter how you threaten them, one of them will talk."

"Can you imagine it?" he asked, as Azula stared at him in a mixture of acknowledgement and anger and fear. "Going home and having to endure the stares from everyone? The great Princess Azula, the pride of the Royal Family, has the blood of the Water-Tribe flowing in her veins. They'll call you an embarrassment, a stain on the name of the Fire Nation. Your father will disown you like he did Zuko, and you will spend the rest of your life alone, because everyone who cared about you will abandon you. Face it Azula, you've always been a failure, and now, everyone here knows it."

Looking at Azula's face, everyone knew that she believed every word that the dog said. There was a glint in her eyes now, a glint of fear that everything Tierra had prophesied would come true. It was a rare expression for Azula, one she had only shown a few times in her fifteen years. When it had come before, she had buried it deep, and thrown herself into her duty and training and her own desires. Today was no different; the Princess looked down for a moment, then whipped around and unleashed her fire at Tierra. The flames struck the dog full on, blasting him across the ship, straight onto the tower that rose from the back deck. As he struck the back with a scream, Azula continued to pour on the fire, her face empty of all fear and filled with the urge to kill.

The blue flames poured over Tierra, as he writhed against the wall. They worked over his body quickly, searing his clothes, and then his skin. As the screams and the stench of burning flesh filled the air, the Knights stared in horror at their brother. Iroh looked on with the same expression he'd had when the body of his son had been brought to him. Katara and Aang turned away, their gentle natures unable to witness such an atrocity. Sokka and Zuko were forced to turn away as well, while Toph gagged on the sickening smell that filled the air. Even Mai and Ty Lee had to avert their gaze.

Finally, after what had seemed an eternity but was only a few minutes, Azula stopped. The flames vanished, and the body of Tierra fell to the ground, blackened and charred. As everyone else stared in horror, Azula smiled at her work; this lying fool was finally gone. She would make sure his words never came to pass, and then she would dance on his ashes. But she was wrong. As she watched, the blackened husk began to move, as it slowly and gingerly began to pull itself up. Eyes wide, Azula watched as it leaned back against the wall of the tower. It opened what was left of its eyes, and looking over at Azula, began to cackle that same laughter it had uttered before.

Before, the laughter had scared Azula. Now it terrified her. Slowly, she began to back away, the glint returning to her eyes. Tierra saw this, and as he stopped his laughter, he carefully brought up his blackened hand, which was curled into a fist. As everyone looked on, he opened it to reveal a handful of dirt. For a second, Azula didn't understand. What did this mean? How did he get the dirt? But then she noticed the broken pottery shards around him, the broken flower stalks. With a gasp, Azula remembered how Ty Lee had suggested putting some flowers on the deck, to 'brighten the ship's aura.' Azula had agreed, simply wanting Ty Lee to shut up. But now, she regretted her decision, as Tierra closed his fist around the earth from the broken flowerpot again.

The effect was instantaneous. The dirt shot out from Tierra's fist and swirled around his burned body. The blackness began to vanish, as skin and even clothes began to grow back. Within seconds, the dog's body was restored, and even improved as he leapt to his feet and with a pull, shattered his manacles. Tierra stretched out his hand, and with an explosion from the deck, his hammer shot forth from its hiding place and flew into his awaiting grasp.

"I don't know who thought that flowers were a good idea Princess, but I personally loved the idea." Tierra said, as he brandished his weapon.

But Azula was unfazed. "So what? You're still powerless; there's no earth here for you to bend." The Princess sneered.

"Again Azula, you make mistakes." The dog said. "I knew I could use your temper and arrogance to escape and recharge. And I knew it would prevent you from realizing why I don't need earth to bend."

Suddenly, the dog sheathed his hammer, and threw out his arms. Before anyone could react, the arms became stone and stretched out, growing to the length of the deck. Moving quickly, Tierra swung his arms outwards, knocking two whole squadrons of soldiers back and scattering them all over the deck.

"I don't need earth; I _am _the earth." Tierra said, as his arms returned to normal. "So, shall we dance Princess?"

Azula's response was a blast of lightning. But Tierra flipped over it, landing on his feet and instantly moving towards her. But before he got there, the dog felt a dagger enter his skin. Grimacing, he pulled it out and looked to see Mai advancing on him, more daggers at the ready. But Tierra didn't panic. Moving quickly, he got to his feet and then threw his hands at the girl…. Literally. Mai stopped in her tracks and tried to backpedal, but it was too late. The hands grew huge in the air and quickly locked around Mai, trapping her on the deck. She fell over, the huge stone hands closed around her, as Tierra quickly grew new hands from his body.

And not a moment too soon, because then Tierra found himself under the shadow of Ty Lee, as the acrobat leapt up and attempted to get the drop on him. But the dog was prepared for this too. Before Ty Lee could reach him, he fell backwards and once she landed, he brought his feet up, catching her in place. Stunned by the impact, Ty Lee couldn't move fast enough to hit a pressure point, which gave Tierra enough time to hit the girl with a blast of earth from his feet, knocking her back onto the ship.

As Ty Lee skidded past Azula, the Princess turned to face the dog, as he flipped back onto his feet. With a yell, Azula charged Tierra, her anger fueling her vicious attacks. Blue fire flashed everywhere, as Azula spun around trying to strike the dog. But while he had been ready to attack Ty Lee and Mai, Tierra took a different approach with Azula. Instead of responding, he kept avoiding her attacks, moving like an Airbender would to dodge the moves. He did this endlessly, as Azula grew more and more frustrated.

Finally, the dog made his move. As he ducked under Azula's flaming arm, he twisted around it, and shooting past Azula, skidded over to where the others were chained.

"Give it up Azula. You've already lost." The dog said.

"What! You haven't hit me once!" Azula screamed.

"No, I made one blow. And it was the only one I needed to make." Tierra said with a grin, as he revealed the blue glass antidote orb in his right hand. Azula gasped and looked down at her belt; indeed the holder for the orb was empty. But before she could do anything, Tierra threw the orb down.

It shattered instantly, as a cloud of blue gas grew from it. The gas spread over the others, who breathed in deep. As the cloud covered them, there was suddenly the sound of chains snapping, and then of a deep breath being taken. Suddenly there was a gust of wind, as the antidote cloud was blown away, revealing the rest of the Avatar gang, freed from their chains, and ready to fight.


	24. All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

Chap. 24

All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

"Nice job bro." Oscuridad said, as he moved to stand next to his brother.

"I thought so to." The dog replied. "Now, shall we get to work? It looks like we've got quite a bit to do." Indeed, the soldiers that Tierra had scattered were already back on their feet, as was Ty Lee. There was a crunch, as Mai broke away from the stone hand that grasped her. Azula smiled, as the troops began to surround the group.

The bat looked around, smiled, and raised his hand, as did the other Knights. With a series of explosions, their weapons came flying out of the hold, and into their awaiting hands. Aire then reached out and used the winds to bring up Aang's staff and Sokka's boomerang and club.

"Yes, I think we'll get to work." Oscuridad, as he brandished his weapon. "Why don't you say it this time?"

"_Viva la Raza!"_ Tierra cried out.

"_Viva le!" _the others yelled back, and with that, the group charged.

* * *

The Firebenders hit back hard, shooting a huge wave of fire towards them. But before it could reach them, Fuego leapt forward and shot it back, while Agua and Katara brought up the ocean water to knock out the troops. With a furious cry, the Avatar gang launched themselves at the soldiers. Flames, air, earth, and water scattered everywhere as the two forces fought each other….

* * *

"Get back here, you little brat!" a soldier yelled, as he tried to grab Toph. But the young Earthbender moved away from his grip with ease.

"I have a better idea. Why don't you go take a dip?" Toph cried back, as she reached out and punched the man. Even without the earth around her to bend, Toph's connection to her element was so strong that she had kept her strength. The solider went flying back, only to be caught by a huge arm made entirely out of sand. The arm was still a moment, and then it turned towards the oceans and tossed the man overboard.

"Nice move kid." Desierto said, as his arm shrunk back to normal.

Toph nodded and turned to find her next opponent. Unfortunately, this was not as easy as one might think. Toph could feel hundreds of vibrations on the ground around her; while this would've been a problem on the earth, the unfamiliar metal, processed by the Fire Nation, made it even harder to tell who was who. Therefore, Toph had to listen carefully for a sign to attack.

Unfortunately, this was not always possible, and Toph suddenly felt something strike her in the back. The young girl went flying and skidded forward, right into the heart of the battle. Toph managed to pick herself up quickly, but found herself ducking and weaving every few seconds as attacks whizzed through the air. Toph tried to find a moment to understand her surroundings, but such time was not allowed. Before she knew what was happening, a pair of arms had grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground.

"Put me down, you stupid hothead!" Toph cried out as she flailed against the soldier that held her. But without a sold base, Toph's strength was useless and the solider kept a tight grip. Or he would have, had Zuko not delivered a hard kick to the man's kidneys, causing him to cry out in pain and release Toph. The second the Earthbender as back on the ground, she whipped around and struck the man hard, sending him sailing back. Zuko took this chance to hit the man with a fireblast, sending him face first across the deck.

"You ok?" he asked Toph once the solider was no longer a threat.

"What do you think? Come on, we've got butt to kick!" Toph answered back, as she went after another soldier.

Zuko shook his head good-naturedly and began follow, but then a lighting bolt shot past him, just barely missing. His face grim, Zuko turned to face it's master……..

* * *

Sokka's club went down hard, as another Fire Nation solider fell at his feet. But he grimaced each time he swung the club. Despite the wrappings, Sokka' back was still raw and this exertion was quite painful for him. Thankfully, he had fortunate enough to only have Fire Nation soldiers come after him; weakened or not, he could still take them down.

But as always happens with Sokka, his luck ran out. A dagger came flying out of the air towards him; Sokka quickly brought his head down to avoid it, but more came after it. Eyes quickly searching the area, Sokka saw a stray metal square, likely left over from some kind of construction. Moving quickly, he grabbed it and used it like a shield, as Mai continued to advance on him.

But the shield wasn't enough, for a second later, Ty Lee flipped up behind him and before he could react, she struck him in the side, causing him to fall to his knees. She then struck him in his lower back, causing his legs to go numb.

"I was hoping you'd be a challenge." Mai sighed, as she came up to the Water-Tribesman. "Oh well, I'd better take care of you now, or Azula will be pissed."

"Do we have to kill him? It'd be such a waste." Ty Lee asked thoughtfully.

Mai sighed and ran her hand down her face. "I have to do everything myself." She muttered, as she turned back to Sokka, her dagger held above her head. Ty Lee looked away then, unable to watch. Sokka began to steal himself for the pain, but then he saw something reflected in the dagger. It was the image of Trueno running towards them, an image that Ty Lee and Mai didn't see, so focused were they on their respective tasks. As he looked, Sokka remembered a training move that he had seen the ram perform a few times, and he smiled inwardly. Sokka waited a second more, then suddenly threw the metal plate at Mai. Surprised, the girl dropped her dagger, reached up and caught it as it almost went over her head. She brought it down slowly, confused at what Sokka had hoped to accomplish. But she found out a second later, as Trueno reached her, and delivered a vicious spin-kick to the plate, driving it into Mai's face. The girl instantly crumpled to the ground.

Ty Lee whirled around at the noise, but this was her downfall as well. A puddle of water at her feet suddenly morphed into Agua, who kicked the girl in the stomach, forcing her to bend over. The cat then stuck her head between his legs, hooked her arms, then leapt into the air and drove her face first into the floor of the ship.

"Thanks guys. Is she gonna be ok?" Sokka asked as he gingerly got to his feet, Ty Lee's attacks already wearing off.

"They should be ok. Still, that was damn easy." Trueno said.

"Hey, don't get cocky, there's still a game going on." Agua said, as he leapt back into the fray. Trueno followed, but Sokka held on a moment. There was a small vent near him, and as Sokka had started to leave, he'd heard a strange noise coming from it. Curoius, Sokka bent down and put his ear to the vent. Sure enough, he heard the sound again. Sokka gasped and then smiled as he saw a door to the lower part of the ship only a few yards away….

* * *

Azula slashed away at Zuko, her eyes filled with anger and frustration. As the blue flames sparked around him, Zuko blocked them with his own fire, as he watched his sister with a strange, almost detached look.

_Is this how I was_? He thought as he looked at his sister, all her control gone, replaced by bitter frustration and rage. He remembered his last battle with his sister; he had been so angry, wanting to destroy his lying sister. As the two siblings moved further and further up the ship, Zuko knew that the expression on his sister's face had been on his own. That same mindless, angry, pointless look, that ruined anything that was good in Azula's face and twisted it into a horrible mask. And the more Zuko looked at it, the more he felt it shame at his past actions, the more he wanted to emancipate himself from his family.

"Getting tired Zuzu?" Azula sneered, as she moved back suddenly, her fist ready to strike. The Princess struck, but Zuko moved away, and caught her arm. For a second, they stood there, eyes locked, in a scene that they'd played out once before, when Azula had betrayed him. But this time, things were different. As Azula's eyes widened, Zuko pulled his hand back and then shot forth his fireblast. Azula went flying back and skidded across the deck. Finally, she came to a stop, only to stare at her supposedly weak older brother, as he stood there with the smoke from the flames still drifting from his fingers.

But Azula's shock lasted only a second, as she sprang back to her feet. Quicly moving through the stance, she let loose her lightning at Zuko. But the boy merely put up his hand, absorbed the lightning, and then using Iroh's method, sent it back at his sister. Azula dodged it, but this time, she looked over at her brother with something she'd never associated with him before; fear and awe.

Zuko noticed this look in his sister's eyes, but before he could relish it or do anything, there was a huge clang from the back of the deck. Everyone on board stopped and looked, as the door leading down into the ship's cargo popped up again. The metal frame began to buckle, as something pushed against it harder and harder. Finally, the frame gave way and shot up into the air. As everyone watched, a creature emerged from the door, one that was large, furry, dirty, but still recognizable as….

"APPA!" Aang cried out in happiness, as he leapt over to his bison. Hugging the creature's face happily, Aang began to weep in joy.

"Come on guys, we're taking off!" Sokka yelled out from his place in Appa's saddle.

"How on earth do you ride that thing?" Iroh asked in amazement.

"Very carefully." Katara replied, as the two of them began to run towards the creature. But before they could reach Appa, the soldiers blocked their way,

"Stop them!" the captain yelled out. "We cannot let them steal the Princess's tribute to her father! Attack!"

The Firebenders began to move into their stances, but before they could, the metal floor of the ship suddenly became liquid and covered their bodies, just before returning to its solid form around them. Katara and Iroh stared in confusion, then saw Hierro running towards them.

"Thought you might want a break from fighting." The spider said.

The two of them nodded, and quickly leapt onto Appa's saddle. Hierro prepared to follow, but then saw Azula running over. This time, the spider slammed his fists down on the metal decking, sending a shockwave through that knocked Azula back down. Hierro nodded, as Zuko and Toph made their way over to Appa and leapt on.

The Knights then quickly summoned their armor and spread their wings. Aang flipped over onto Appa's head, grabbed the reins and sent the bison into the air with a cry of "Yip-Yip!" As Appa soared upwards, the Knights launched themselves after him, leaving Azula sitting on the deck, bereft of any glory or prizes for her father or any answers for herself.


	25. A Question of Blood

Chap. 25

A Question of Blood

Appa cleared the ship in a manner of minutes, and soon, the group was out of sight of Azula. However, they then realized they were faced with a far more difficult problem; having no idea where they were. However, Agua and Tierra used their connection to the sea and earth to sense their relation to Ba Sing Se.

Once the directions were realized, Aang quickly steered Appa back in the direction of Ba Sing Se, as the Knights flew around the bison as a sort of honor guard. With Appa's speed, they reached the city in an hour or so. After that, they quickly found their hovel, and once they landed and dismounted, they also found the whimpering figure of Jouku. However, the group resisted the urge to throttle the man, and merely summoned the Earth Kingdom guards to arrest him as a traitor…. _After _everyone was allowed to kick him in the nuts at least once.

It was after that however, that things began to quiet down. Aang and Toph stayed outside, the former not wanting to leave Appa again just yet and the later wanting to apologize to him. Everyone else went inside the hovel, and sat down in the living room. For a long time, silence reigned; though everyone had questions, none of them could find the words to ask them. The Knights and Iroh were faced with the prospect of talking about something that was a touchy and delicate subject for their young friends, and therefore one they were afraid to bring up. For despite all their combined years of experience, both the Knights and Iroh never knew how to bring up a subject that carried with it such confusion and even pain at a loss of personal identity.

After all, that was what the children had suffered was it not? Each of them had always known who they were, always been proud of where they had come from. Katara and Sokka had loved their mother and still felt pain at her loss. It was the reason both of them had tried so hard to fight against the forces of the Fire Nation, to avenge her loss. Now they knew that this woman that they had loved so much was not their mother, despite their love for her.

As for Zuko he had lost his whole image of himself. He had always been the Prince of the Fire Nation, heir to the throne of a great nation. Not even his father's hatred of him had been able to shake that. But that wasn't who he was anymore. Zuko had always been divided between his own honor and the beliefs of the Fire Nation. He thought that joining the Avatar had been enough to end that division within himself. But here he was, divided again in his perceived identity.

The silence continued for a while longer, as the Knights and Iroh looked at each other, hoping that one of them knew the words that could end this. Finally, Tierra, knowing he had been the cause of this, spoke.

"I'm sorry guys." He said, looking at the three siblings. "I didn't want to tell you like this. I just knew that it was information we could use to escape. I knew it would freak Azula out, but I just didn't think about what it would do to you. I'm sorry for that, but please, don't let this consume you. You're confused right now; let us try to help you."

Tierra's words hung in the air, waiting to break the barriers between the siblings and the group. For a moment, there was nothing. The dog began to lean back, thinking he had failed. But then Zuko's voice said, quietly and with great tension, "How did you know?"

Everyone looked up at this, as Tierra flustered a moment, then said, "Well, a person's scent is based on the people that created him or her- the mother and father. You three all carried the scent of your mother, and Azula shared the scent of Ozai with you Zuko. But I knew no one would believe it, so I went to the Architects to find out the story."

"And they wouldn't lie, would they?" Sokka said, though more to himself then anyone.

"It wouldn't matter if they did." Iroh said suddenly. "Even if these two are not your siblings Zuko, you do belong to the Water Tribe."

"What? Uncle you knew?" Zuko asked in astonishment.

"Yes. I was there when your father brought Ursa back from the raid. Father and I were horrified that he would mistreat a civilian so badly, but it grew worse when we learned that she was already pregnant with you. Azulon decreed that Ozai would marry the girl and raise his child with her, letting Ozai forever feel the 'shame of acting without honor or decency.' Ozai did manage to regain some of that with Azula; Father thought that she was adopted since Ursa was gone, but I knew the truth. But soon after that, Ozai demanded that I never reveal to either of you your true heritage, or he would come after _my_ son. Your father was always shamed by his punishment; it was why he pushed Azula so hard when you were young. He wanted to make up for his 'failure.'"

"If you were his failure Zuko, then I wish that he'd screw up more often." Aire said, hoping to bring the mood up a little bit. But Zuko did not take it as such. Letting his head fall, the former prince said, "Everything I ever thought I was has been a lie. I don't belong anywhere. I never have."

"No, you do." Katara said abruptly. Moving over to Zuko, she said, "You've spent all this time realizing that you don't want to be your father's son. There's a whole part of you your father never understood, that he thought made you weak. But you're stronger because of it. You can see things that you father can't. You understand more of the world then he ever can. And it doesn't have to change you. You can be the same person you want to be, just be this as well."

"What does it matter?" Zuko said bitterly. "Now all I have is two homes I can never go back to."

"Zuko, home isn't just a place you go to." Luz said gently. "It isn't always where you come from. Home can be the people you make it with. You have a chance to make one here, with us. We may not be perfect, but we can love you more than your father, regardless of where you come from."

"And that doesn't just go for you." Agua said, looking over at Sokka and Katara. "You are all part of this family. No matter what, that won't change. Just like how this doesn't change who your mother was. That woman raised you, loved you, and protected you as well as any mother could. Blood or not, that is who she was, and that is who she will always be."

The three siblings were silent then, absorbing all that had been said. Finally, Sokka said, "You know, I was really disappointed when Katara was born. I always wanted a brother."

" I know the feeling." Zuko said with smirk. "At least your sister didn't turn out to be a psychopath."

"Don't be too sure of that."

"Hey! I'm right here you know." Katara snapped. "And frankly, if you tow are gonna be like this, I'd rather have Azula as my sister."

"Well, you're definitely as stubborn as she is." Zuko said.

As the siblings continued to bicker, Iroh turned to Fuego and said, "I think they're going to be ok."

"I agree." The red man replied, as the door opened, and Toph and Aang walked inside to see Sokka, Zuko, and Katara continuing to bicker.

"Are they all right?" Aang asked.

"Yeah. They're just proving that they're related." Bosque replied.

"If that what they're doing, I'm glad I'm an only child." Toph said.

From the side, Fuego nodded and looked at Aang. The young Airbender was watching his friends with an amused look that bordered on happiness. _He must be glad he doesn't have to worry about Zuko moving in on her anymore. _Fuego thought. _Thank God for that; we can't be running after him every time Katara….._

Fuego stopped suddenly, as a new thought came into his mind. A smile crept across the red man's face, which then became a chuckle, until finally he was full on laughing. The siblings stopped arguing, as everyone stared at Fuego with confusion.

"Fue, please don't say that somebody else has a long lost relative." Luz said.

"No, no…. it's just…. Zuko was… so right…. When he said…." Fuego got out between guffaws, before erupting again. Luz looked on in confusion, but then her eyes sparked, and she began to laugh to.

"Can someone please clue us in on the joke here?" Zuko said with impatience.

"Don't you remember?" Luz said, being more in control of herself then her brother. "Back in the market? You were right, it really _was _like kissing your sister!"

As the two Knights continued to laugh, Zuko and Katara both paled and slowly looked at each other. In the confusion of what had happened, they had not realized what their new relationship had meant concerning their past accident. As realization flowed through their minds, they both suddenly sprang to their feet, and rushed for the washroom. As the door slammed shut, the sounds of extremely loud scrubbing, spitting, and gargling could be heard, as the rest of the group began to laugh.

**THE END**

_Dedicated to the memory of Mako Iwamatsu, The Voice of Iroh_

_1933-2006_

_A good actor makes you believe in a character_

_A great actor makes you love the character_

_Thank you Mako_

_Rest in Peace_


End file.
